Update to my previous post "Leave your face alone!"

I am very happy to announce that I did not rupture a capillary like I thought I had. It seems like all I did was pinch some of my skin off - still pretty idiotic of me -_-. To be on the safe side I gave those home remedies I mentioned in the first post a try and that tipped me off that it was a surface scratch (the apple cider vinegar stung like hell!). It was at that point I just let it be. Truth is I contribute it healing nicely and leaving no mark to Amore Pacific's Moisture Bound Rejuvenating Serum. I had two samples that I got the last time I went to Sephora that lasted me four days and it was during that time that the mark completely disappeared - and my skin looked great. Sadly I can't really afford to purchase the regular size bottle but I recommend you get it if you can, or at least go ask for some samples.

If you would like to purchase the serum just click on one of the links below.

Amazon

Sephora

Homemade exfoliating scrub

If you suffer from dry sensitive skin you know better than anyone how hard it can be to exfoliate without causing irritation. Most drugstore products don't help much and even going to a professional can be a disaster. The best solution is to make your own homemade scrub. Depending on the severity of your sensitivity you can make this recipe in one of two ways. All you will need is oatmeal - no I don't mean the instant kind - and baking soda.

For sensitive skin:

1. Take 1 tbls of oatmeal and grind it up in a blender until you get a pretty smooth powder (don't worry about a few big grains being leftover).

2. Place the oatmeal powder on a small plate and add 1 tbls of baking soda. Mix them well.

3. Add 1 tbls of water and mix it thoroughly until you get a nice paste. If it is too thick feel free to add another tbls of water.

4. Rub the mixture all over your face just like a regular mask making sure to avoid your eye area.

5. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes. Once it has dried beging to rub the scrub in circular motions with your fingertips right before rinsing it off. This will help "scrub" the dead skin cells off and also remove most of the oatmeal mixture (believe me you don't want to let it go down the drain).

For extra sensitive skin:

Pretty much follow the same instructions but leave out the baking soda. The oatmeal by itself is a wonderful, natural exfoliator. Do this once a week and trust me that you will see a difference in your face.

If you still prefer to just purchase a product I highly recommend Amore Pacific's Treatment Enzyme Peel. It's really gentle and it gets the job done but it's a bit on the expensive side.

Where to purchase:

Sephora

Amazon

How to effectively use Biore strips

Truth is I'm not a fanatic of Biore strips since they can be slightly damaging to the skin. But, even I admit I get a sense of satisfaction when I see a bunch of blackheads come out. The idea behind the strips is pretty simple. You wet your nose, apply the strip, and then remove it once it has dried. Sometimes you get a ton of blackheads out and other times you get nothing. After trying it out a few different ways I figured out the most effective way to remove as many blackheads as possible.

Follow these steps and it should work for you as well (try to do this at night if possible):

1. Cleanse your face as usual but do it with the warmest water your face can handle.

2. Pat your face dry. Except your nose or other area you want to apply the strip - of course!

3. Wet the area once again with the warmest water possible. Basically you want to hold the water over the area for a few seconds at a time to help open up your pores. Once you think it's enough go ahead and apply the strip.

4. Leave the strip on for the suggested amount of time or until it has dried up and then remove it.

At this point you should see a ton of blackheads. The trick to making these strips truly effective is to open up your pores before use. If you don't want to put hot water on your face you can definitely use a facial steamer if you have one or just boil some water, place it in a bowl, and then put your face over the bowl with a towel over your head.

Hope this helps!

Leave your face alone!

No, I don't mean stop your daily skin care regimen. I mean, stop picking at your face! Ok, so it's not like we don't all do it (even I'm guilty). Today I learned a lesson and it's to leave my face alone. Believe me I learned the hard, ugly way.

Basically what happened was I decided to try and force stubborn blackheads out of my nose. In the process of squeezing I most likely broke a capillary and now I have an ugly red mark on the side of my nose. Honestly it serves me right :(. Up to now I've been so good about properly cleansing and using masks - which have significantly helped. Now I have to wait and see if it will go away on its own. I take vitamin e everyday and that's been known to help as well as apple cider vinegar. For those of you who don't know, vinegar is often used on fresh bumps to thin out the blood and prevent bruising. Mom's use this on little kids when they fall and hit themselves.

If these home remedies don't do the trick my only other option is to pay a dermatologist to zap it away. And who knows what that will cost me?

The moral of the story ladies, leave your face alone! An annoying blackhead is a million times better than an ugly broken vein.

Walmart Free Samples Haul

Last week, after much research, I decided to purchase Clean & Clear's deep action cream cleanser for sensitive skin. Typically, because my skin is dry and sensitive, I don't tend to purchase any products that are meant to help with acne since they usually contain salicylic acid (which can be very drying). Unfortunately the closer summer gets the more my face is starting to breakout - and it isn't just 1 or 2 blemishes u_u. Anyways, as I was saying, I decided to purchase this product after watching some review videos which claimed it was a great option for people with my skin type. Usually I go to my local Walgreens, Target, or Walmart to pick up any drugstore brand but for some reason the deep action cream cleanser for sensitive skin isn't always available in store so I ended shopping around online. To my surprise Walmart had it priced at $4.47 with free shipping. Mind you, all the stores I mentioned above are literally down the street from my house but why would I say "no" to having it brought to my doorstep for free? LOL. So I waited and waited and it finally came today in a box bigger than I expected. Well, not only had they sent my cleanser but also a bag of freebies (picture below).

I apologize for the quality of the picture but I only had my cellphone handy at the moment. This is what I got in my freebie bag:

1 Frederic Fekkai Shampoo/Conditioner The Shea Butter Collection

1 Frederic Fekkai Shampoo/Conditioner The Glossing Collection

1 "New" Garnier Fructis Anti-Dandruff Shampoo

1 "New" Garnier Fructis Fortifying Shampoo/Conditioner

1 John Frieda full REPAIR Shampoo/Conditioner

1 Garnier Nutritioniste Ultra-Lift Anti-Wrinkle Firming Moisturizer SPF 15

1 COSMEDICINE Medi-Matte Oil Control Lotion Skin Protectant Sunscreen SPF 20

1 Hard Candy Take Me Out Liner in the shade "abyss" (it's glittery)

1 Box always thin/mince flexi-style pantiliners

1 Coupon to save $5.00 if I buy 3 P&G products

This was definitely a great buy. I'm completely impressed with the fact that Walmart is willing to ship something that is so cheap absolutely free and on top of that they stuff the box with goodies. Today I wont have to spend hours looking for freebies myself LOL! I recommend you check out http://www.walmart.com/ the next time you want to purchase any drugstore brand, you might get lucky as well.

I'll be adding a review for the cleanser in the next couple of days.

Freebie of the Day!

I love all skin care related freebies - even those of brands I don't particularly like. Today I found a free sample of L'Oreal's Youth Code. Just click on the link below and register to get the free sample.

L'Oreal Paris Youth Code Sample

Do high-end masks work better than drugstore masks?

The short answer is, probably not. But truth be told we all have different skin and even when we share similar issues no product will work the same on 2 individuals. So, do more expensive masks work better than drugstore bought masks? I decided to see for myself by purchasing 3 different masks. The first was Boscia's Luminizing Black Mask (retails for $34 at http://www.sephora.com/ and http://www.boscia.net/), the second was Boots Botanics Conditioning Clay Mask (retails for $8.99 at your local Target), and lastly Queen Helene The Original Mint Julep Masque (I got it for $2.75 at my local Dollar Tree but typically retails for $2-$7 online).

Before I start I want to state that personally I have dry sensitive skin that is prone to the occasional breakout. I also have issues with whiteheads and blackheads on my chin/nose areas respectively. Obviously these things affect how I feel about each individual product I mentioned. As you can imagine I always try to purchase products that work with my skin needs and that are either organic or natural (it's more of a preference not a necessity). It is this particular preference that led me to purchase the Boscia mask. After all it has Sephora's organic seal off approval.

Boscia Luminizing Black Mask

The good:

Organic Product

Easy to apply

Dries fairly quickly (15-20 mins. depending on the thickness you apply)

Sinks into every pore on your face

Removes some blackheads and dead skin

The bad:

Difficult to peel off

Stings after removal and skin is sensitive overall

Does not remove most impurities

Does not significantly improve the skins appearance

Amount (2.8 oz)

Price

Where to purchase:

Boscia

Sephora

Amazon

Although Boscia claims its mask "boosts skin clarity and radiance. Removes dirt and impurities while refining the look of pores" it reminds me of a nose strip. Honestly, it's just like one huge Biore strip. And much like a Biore strip it will rip out facial hair, remove some blackheads, and then call it a day. For the price and amount you get I wouldn't say it's worth it. The ironic part is that now Boscia has black nose strips - I guess I wasn't the only one that felt this way about this mask lol.

Boots Botanics Conditioning Mask

The good:

Affordable price

Dries extremely fast

Gets into every single pore on your face

Does not dry your skin

Dried up blemishes

Washed off easily

The bad:

Dries extremely fast

Where to purchase:

Target

Boots

Amazon

drugstore.com

Boots Clay Mask works by "exhibiting a negative electrical charge to attract deep-rooted impurities from your skin". What caught my attention was the fact that it claimed to work well for dry skin (as well as normal/combination skin). It isn't often you find a product that really does work for all skin types. That aside, how could I say no when the price was so cheap and I was getting twice as much product than the Boscia mask? The only downside I found was the way the mask dried. At times I wanted to spread the product out but by the time I would get back to an area it would be 50% dry forcing me to have to use  more product to compensate. Besides that I really loved this mask. It made my skin feel so clean and soft, especially my nose which is always a troublesome area. I'm not looking for a miracle product but this is pretty darn close. I would definitely recommend this for any skin type.

Queen Helene The Original Mint Julep Masque

The good:

Price

Quantity (8 oz Bonus 33% More)

Consistency

Dries quickly

Sinks into every single pore

Nice tingling sensation

Dried blemishes

Washed off easily

The bad:

The smell (it was like applying toothpaste)

Stung when applied

Left my face very dry

Where to purchase:

Amazon

Walgreens

drugstore.com

This particular mask seems to be quite popular among skin care gurus (just search YouTube and you will see what I mean). Quite frankly I stumbled upon it one day at my local Dollar Tree. I never imagined this would be my third selection, but at $2.75 for an 8 oz tube, how could I say no?

I really enjoyed the thickness of this mask because a little really did go a long way. This tube will probably last me for quite a bit lol. Even though it stung a lot on the initial application, it tingled nicely all the way until it dried. I loved how deep into my pores it went and how quickly it dried up. But, my skin got pretty dry once I removed it - my nose was pretty bad. Fortunately it wasn't anything my night time routine couldn't handle. To my surprise the very next day some blemishes I had dried up but I had broken out in new ones as well - go figure! Ironically I took this as a good sign that it was pulling out deep impurities in my skin. Still, I wouldn't recommend this for people with severely dry/sensitive skin.

Now, down to business. Surely at this point you can guess what my take is on this particular topic. While I absolutely love going to department stores and buying expensive "promises" of amazing results a lot of times you can get the same or even better results from a drugstore brand. Out of the 3 products, Boots won hands down in my opinion. You will just have to see for yourself ^_^.