Okay, of all the products that I’ve used, Lush Herbalism is my holy grail. Although it is, unfortunately, on the pricier side of cleansers, it has been the only one that has left my skin feeling refreshed and not dried out and aggravated. Unlike the typical cleanser, Herbalism does not foam nor is it similar to milk cleansers. It comes in a solid form and in order to use it, you simply have to pinch off a small piece and add water. By working the mixture into your hands, it immediately creates a creamy consistency that has a nice exfoliating quality due to the almonds in the ingredients. Herbalism does, however, tend to create a mess due to its green colouring and unique texture. I constantly have to be sure to rise off the sink after washing my face, which is definitely a drawback, but one I chose to live with because I have yet to find another cleanser that works as well fighting my cystic acne while not causing my skin to breakout into a reaction. Even if a cleanser doesn’t have SLS, the simple foaming action is enough to begin to irritate my skin. Plus, Herbalism has the benefits of being ethically sourced and natural in origins. So while yes, it does come at a higher price and with a bit of a clean up, if that is the price for my skin to finally be happy, I’ll gladly pay it.
Pros
Unique texture that gently cleans and exfoliates
Long lasting (one large jar lasts me about 3 to 4 months)
Natural Ingredients
Vegan and Cruelty free
Works great for acne and sensitive skin
Cons
Pricey (large jar costs around 40 dollars)
Messy
Overall, I highly recommend Herbalism! It has definitely been a miracle worker on my sensitive skin and have yet been able to find any cleanser that matches up.
Hey guys! Hope you’re all doing well! Or as well as we all can be in 2020…
Anyway, I’m pretty excited about this post! If you’ve been keeping up, a few months ago, I posted a review about Behind the Pages. Of course, with the luck of 2020, shortly after I made this post, I found out that the shop was closing, which was heartbreaking for my bookish soul. I mean, soaps that were based off book characters and were gentle enough of my sensitive skin? It was just too good to be true. So with its demise, I was off to find a new soap brand to adore. Unfortunately, with my picky skin, I ran into a few duds – one in particular that triggered an awful allergic reaction…
However, a few weeks ago, I found out a friend, Tia Fricke, decided to start up a local business, Witch-ly, that would be focused on crafting handmade soaps and candles. Like me, she has sensitive skin and sought out to create gentle, vegan products that would be safe for all skin types. So, I decided to purchase her Ocean Breeze soap. First off, the presentation of the soap is absolutely beautiful.
Photo of Ocean Breeze by Witch-ly
For this soap, the ingredients for the water are glycerin based that have been dyed with food-safe soap colorant, which can be found here. The ‘sand’ of the soap is created using Shea Butter infused with coffee grains and gold glitter for the added texture of a summer sandy shore, and the waves are created by hand molding Shea Butter. There is also white glitter dispersed in the glycerin to give the appearance of water gleaming in the sun. As a once Floridian, the soap truly is reminiscent of a day at the beach – minus the sand in unfortunate places. And don’t worry, all the glitter used in Ocean Breeze is synthetic mica, which is completely biodegradable.
Outside of the picture-perfect appearance, Ocean Breeze lathers with ease and comes with a scent that lasts long after you step out of the shower. Unlike most scents, which can be described with the ease of a few adjectives, Ocean Breeze truly smells like the ocean air. It’s that fresh, clean, invigorating summer scent we all long for on the hottest days. So overall, I am definitely impressed with Witch-ly soaps. It worked perfectly for my finicky skin, and the scent is amazing! Honestly, it’s my favourite part of my nightly showers now.
If you’re interested in this product for yourself and want to support a small business, check out Witch-ly’s Facebook page here!
In the skin care world, The Ordinary, created under the company Deciem, has been on the up and up. The line offers serums, acids, cleansers, all packed with potent ingredients, at incredibly low prices – seriously, most of their items are under ten dollars! So, like any broke college student, the deal itself lured me to purchase, after all, I spent more than seven dollars on Starbucks some days. (I have a caffeine addiction, but that’s a problem for another day). I decided to buy two of The Ordinary’s more popular products, their Peeling Solution and their Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% (review pending on this one).
Like many others, my acne has been flaring up with more frequent mask wearing, not that it takes my skin much to pitch a fit; it’s worse than a tyrant toddler in that way. In the community of the blemish inflicted, AHA and BHA are often praised as fantastic weapons against the red scourge. Now, I have used lower percentages of these acids, such as in the Truly Organic Mask (you can read more about this product here). However, outside of the once in a blue moon facial, I’ve never used a full on chemical peel myself. But, much like dying my hair blue (which ended poorly, my poor hair turned grey…), I decided to drive in head first. I didn’t even do a skin patch test – which, please, if you love yourself, don’t do this. Logically, I know this is stupid, yet, here we are. Thankfully, my experience ended up far better than the blue hair debacle. I did read the instructions (even I’m not that foolhardy) and applied the blood like peel to my freshly cleansed, dry face, and I left the mask on for under ten minutes. Things seemed fine after I washed it off, and my skin did seem pleasantly smooth, so, thinking all was well, I used my toner, serum, and moisturizer like normal…
This is where I made my mistake. Maybe my toner aggravated my skin; it is a Thayers witch hazel toner; however, I’ve always found it to be quite gentle for my skin. No, I believe the culprit was my serum, which includes .75% of salicylic acid. I figured since it’s such a low percent, things would be fine. Things were not fine. I lasted about five minutes before I grabbed my milky cleanser by Glossier and scrubbed it all off my poor, burning skin. Thankfully, most of my skin was no worse for wear, though the skin around my cheekbones and nose were a very unhappy shade of cherry red. This self inflicted irritation was gone by morning. At least, unlike the swamp blue hair, the mistake didn’t haunt me after the fact.
So, while I would say this product may be worth the hype (especially for the price point), be careful with your use. I would recommend a patch test (the old, do as I say, not as I do) and after using the product, follow up only with moisturizer to avoid any possible irritation from your serums and toners. As a chemical peel, it’s a powerful product, so please treat it as such. I think, with my sensitive skin, I would use this peel no more than once a week, maybe only bimonthly. Overall, I would recommend the product – plus, its blood like aesthetic is perfect for Halloween (yes, I know it’s August, but Fall can’t come any sooner).
Let me know what you guys think down in the comments below! I’ll be back with another post next week!
Okay, before we jump in, my apologies for falling off the face of the earth. I’m still around and kicking, but much like the rest of the world, 2020 has taken a hit. For those of you who know, I’m a college senior. In the beginning of March, much like all other universities around the world, mine shut down and moved online. Many of my courses, particularly my science classes, were not prepared for that change, and as result, I ended up having to self teach – particularly in my Immunology class, a class that’s horrors only match in the levels of pain as Ochem. So, in the midst of that mess, this blog and the rest of my writing fell to the wayside. I love writing for this blog. I love doing the research and trying out new skin care. But for those months, I needed escapism. Hopefully, though these times are still uncertain or unprecedented or whatever other nice way of painting it, I should be back at a regular schedule with this blog!
But on to the review! To-day, we’re taking a look at IS Clinical Cleansing Complex:
Photo from Dermstore
With the stress of 2020 and wearing masks (which please, wear one), my acne has reared it’s oh so lovely head again. I mentioned in a previous post that one of my Holy Grail products was Herbalism by Lush (my review on that product is here), and while I still love that cleanser, I hate the mess it leaves. Seriously, that stuff gets everywhere – and it’s bright green. So, in the interest of helping my new outbreaks and to save my OCD from making me clean the bathroom everyday, I decided to branch out. Unfortunately, my skin hates most cleansers. I tried Namaste Kitten, and while I didn’t hate it, it wasn’t amazing. It didn’t cause a reaction, but it also didn’t do anything for my skin; in fact, I found it to be a bit stripping. So next, I tried Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser, and while I may do a more in depth review of that one in the future, I also didn’t love it. It was great for sensitive skin, but for my acne, I felt like I needed more. So, I decided to take to the internet and research, and somewhere, along whatever rabbit trail I had wandered down, I stumbled upon an interview of Phoebe Tonkins (which you can read here). Now, most of the items Phoebe Tonkins lists that she uses for her acne are way out of my budget. I love skin care, but if it’s over fifty dollars, I’m out. Maybe one day I can have such a budget….a girl can dream. Anyway, I noticed the cleanser she uses wasn’t too far off from what I paid for my Lush cleanser, so I decided why not. I normally don’t use products solely by celebrity recommendations, but after two less than stellar cleansers, I figured to go for it.
The cleanser also claims to have Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, in addition to the salicylic acid and antioxidants above. So, while the product is on the pricier side, at 44 dollars, I think it’s well worth the price for the outcome. My skin isn’t healed by any means, but this cleanser has helped to calm down some of the irritation and redness I’ve been experiencing while still being gentle on my picky skin. Plus, the cleanser bottle I brought lasted me a little over three months! I think I’ve finally found my new Holy Grail cleanser, and as of right now, it’s my favourite product I’m using.
I’ll see you guys in the next post, which will hopefully be sooner than five months this time. Anyway, I hope you all are doing well, stay safe out there! Till next time!
I adore sheet masks. They have a multitude of benefits, from soothing to hydrating, and they leave behind a wonderful serum for your skin to soak up all night long. But more than anything, I love how convenient they are. Unlike a conventional face mask, there is no mess, no fuss. You simply have to slip it out of the bag, align it on your face, and then toss it in the trash; you can’t get more low maintenance than that. But, unfortunately, not all of these guys are so soothing for those of us with sensitive skin. In fact, I had a rather awful reaction from Yes To’s brand of sheet masks, an experience that left me leery of diving back into the sheet mask world. With how delicate the skin of your face is, well, that’s the last place you want to have a reaction, believe me…
But it’s been a few months since that event, long enough for me to forget my pain. It was safe to say that I was ready to be hurt again. Nevertheless, I decided to play it safe. I went with a brand that normally is a pretty safe bet for those looking for a natural alternative for sensitive skin: Burt’s Bees. The Renewing mask I chose had lovely ingredients, like rose, vitamin E, and algae extract. Promising the use of 99.4% natural origin, I figured it was worthy of a try.
So first off, Burt’s Bees mask are more than well made. Unlike the flimsy, dripping masks that I’ve used in the past, this one was made of a thick, substantial material. Burt’s Bee denotes their line of sheet masks as biocellulose gel masks. This use of material allows the mask to firmly hug the curves of one’s face, keeping a tight grip without trying to slide off your face in a reenactment of the melting witch from Oz. So, already, we’re off to a good start.
Overall, the mask, thankfully, did not anger my skin in the way Yes To sheet masks had. The serum left behind on my skin was quickly absorbed, not leaving behind a thin slim trail that some sheet masks have been known to do. It did make my skin feel smooth and refreshed, but not quite to the level a mud mask does. So yes, Burt’s Bee Biocellulose Gel Mask does work well for a quick and dirty self care for those in a rush, it does not bring miracles and can be considered a bit pricey for four dollars for a one time use. I would recommend it if you need something in a pinch or something to add to your Netflix binge, but it’s not a do or die product by any means.
Let me know what you guys think in the comments below! Are there any sheet masks that you particularly love? Let me know and have a wonderful weekend and Valentine’s Day this Friday- or, if you’re single like me, enjoy all that discount chocolate the 15th! I know I will.
Before my skin decided to become more reactive to ingredients, like SLS, I could treat it with any sort of abuse. For Jove’s sake, I used to put toothpaste on my acne (and guys, please don’t ever do this, for the love of all that is good, don’t). But with the the burden of sensitive skin came the need to tip toe over any products that seemed remotely abrasive. So, of course, exfoliating scrubs were the first to get the cut out of my skin care.
But, for those of you who know me, I love the holidays, and I adore surprises at Christmas. However, my mum alleges that I’m impossible to buy for- which I disagree with, give me tea and books and I’m thrilled- but anyway, I asked for her to try, at least, to do surprise gifts this year. She knows I’m a huge skin care advocate, so she decided to pick me up some things from Sprouts. One of the items she ended up picking is this guy here:
It’s from a company known as the Pacha Soap Co. The ingredients seemed safe, with the majority being all natural, so I decided to give it a try. Now, since it has a whipped consistency, it was no where near as gritty as the scrubs I used to subject my body to; instead, it was light, soft, with just the barest edge of a rougher touch. Combined with the Shea butter, the result was luxurious. It not only smoothed my skin over, which is a life saver for the psoriasis on my arms, but it also gently softened my skin, to keep the exfoliating experience from the likes of rubbing a cactus across your naked body. Plus, this jar lasts forever! I’ve been using it for almost two months now, about once or twice a week, and I’ve only used a quarter of it. It can’t get better than that.
Moreover, this tub costs just twelve dollars. You can buy one here at the Pacha store. Let me know what you think in the comments below. I’ll see you guys in the next post. Have a great week and keep rocking your skin care regime!
Okay, so this is probably one of my favourite companies on earth. Sure, you can buy soap any where, but where else are you going to find an all natural soap that is literary based? I am a huge nerd and an even bigger fan of YA. Honestly, I spend far more time between the pages of a novel than I do with friends- make of that what you will. I’m sure a psychologist could make a few comments about my difficulty making friends and my struggle with depression and connect all that to my desperate use of books for an escapism…
But that’s way too much reality for me. So, when I found a company that makes soap, face masks, lotions, bath milk, and other beauty products based on book characters? Of course I grabbed my wallet and ordered those babies. Even better, Gina (owner of Behind the Pages) creates products that are all natural and handmade. Moreover, her products are truly luxurious. They are made with amazing ingredients like goats milk, shea butter, and coconut oil, all of which makes this soap is long lasting and moisturising. And have I mentioned the scent? Out of this world. Truly, Behind the Pages soap makes Dove look like the poor man’s knock off. Plus, it’s always a bonus getting to benefit a small business. So, if you’re a book nerd with sensitive skin like me, what are you waiting for? Check Behind the Pages out here https://www.behindthepagesstore.com/
Update: I just found out the owner is deciding to close her shop. I’m extremely heartbroken…Looks like I’m going to need to find a new all natural soap! Stay tuned.
Okay, so Truly Organic is a line new to me, but since I was at Ulta and I had a gift card (and hey, that’s like free money!), I decided to take the plunge. Since I’ve been enjoying CBD skin care products, I decided to go with their Golden Leaf mask, boosting a total of 300mg of CBD in the bottle. So, first off, as soon as you put the face mask on, you immediately feel the tinging effects. At first, I was worried it was going to irritate my skin (which doesn’t take much), but after a few seconds, the feeling faded, and I was able to wear the mask comfortably for 25 to 30 minutes. Now, unlike my favourite CBD mask, from G4U, which you can read about here, this mask is not one you want to leave on your skin for long. It doesn’t dry as quickly nor is it as aggressive as a mud mask, however, since it contains Glycolic acid and AHA/BHA, it does have an exfoliating effect on the skin, which is quite nice, but can also irritate the skin if overused.
Overall, I did notice a difference in my skin. As soon as I took the mask off, my face felt smoother and refreshed. And so far (I’ve used it around five times thus far) it has been great for my acne. It doesn’t anger cystic acne bumps, and it seems to take some of the redness and swelling out of their sails. However, I would only use this mask once a week. I tried doing it every other day, and my skin was far from pleased. After all, Golden Leaf does have some potent ingredients that get the job done, and as such, they need to be used sparingly. But I’d likely get this mask again. It’s quite nice to use to brighten the skin and to help clear up some acne. Plus, it’s not bad for my dramatic skin and that’s always a win in my book.
Farmhouse Fresh is known for their natural skincare line, so of course, I had to try it. While they do not have much to chose from when it comes to cleansers, their face mask line is extensive-and even better, it’s fun. With masks from Pudding Apeel to Sand Your Ground, the cute puns are almost as good as the experience. I decided to go for, what I thought was, the most appealing to my foodie soul: Sundae Best.
So the best thing about Sundae Best by far is the scent. You know those tiny but delicious hot fudge sundaes from McDonald’s? (When the ice cream machine is working that is…) Or what about that fudge that is topped on a Steak n’ Shake milkshake? The warm, hot fudge that you can’t help but ask for a second serving of? That is this mask. The temptation to eat it is strong- and maybe it would be worth it to try. But sadly this mask is not for eating. However, it makes one Hell of a home spa day; it’s simply a must for any chocolate lover. Even better is that this mask is made of 98 percent natural ingredients, so it’s a perfect fit for people with sensitive skin. The mask is somewhat softening, as advertised, however, I do find it to be more of a mud mask than a soothing one. Unlike my favourite G4U CBD mask, this is not one I would recommend leaving on for long. Believe me, I have, trying to enjoy every second of the chocolate goodness. But atlas, more than twenty minutes with this bad boy and you’ll go from soft skin to dry, angry skin. So I do definitely recommend it for the experience, just be careful to keep that experience between 10 to 15 minutes.
Pros
Ammmazing chocolate scent
Great mud mask
Nearly all natural ingredients
Doesn’t irritate sensitive skin
Cruelty-free
Perfect for both young and mature skin needs (CoQ10 is a main ingredigent)
Cons
Messy
Remove can be difficult if you let stay on too long
Recommend removing it with a wash cloth (one you don’t care about)
I’ve only recently come across Lush’s Tea Totaler Cleanser. I decided to give it a try, after all, it was only 5.95! That’s practically drug stores prices. Tea Totaler comes as a small, white cleansing balm. In order to use it, you simply swipe it across your face. Your body heat naturally warms the balm up and the oils from it transfer to your face. I then make sure to fully rub it into my skin before rinsing with hot water and using a wash cloth to remove the excess. Since I’ve found this balm to be a bit like oil cleansing, I typically use it after I’ve washed my face with Herbalism. Tea Totaler tends to leave behind a light serum on your face, which is quite nice since it has ingredients like witch hazel and tea tree oil that do an excellent job of calming the skin and helping to keep acne bumps at bay. However, I do feel one definitely needs a second form of cleansing to fully clean one’s face. But for the price, the Tea Totaler is a perfect second cleanser, and so far, one balm has lasted me four months! And unlike in my review for Herbalism, Tea Totaler has zero mess. Even better, Tea Totaler comes without packaging, which is fantastic if you’re trying to cut back on your plastic waste. So if you can, I recommend trying it out. The price is right after all!
Pros
Reasonably priced
Great for breakouts
Not too harsh on sensitive skin
Works great for double cleansing
Cons
Needs to be kept away from steam or it will melt
Would recommend another cleanser to be paired with it
Another Godsend product. Naturally G4U is a cruelty free, plant based line that is packed with amazing ingredients designed for particular skin issues, like anti-aging, sensitive skin, acne, and dry skin. Relatively new to Ulta, I stumbled upon G4U’s CBD mask in my local Ulta store last Fall. Now, as someone who is a huge fan of mud masks, I’m used to having to make certain that I only leave the mask on within the time limits or I have to face the consequences of angry red skin and the possibility of revenge acne. Yet with G4U CBD, this mask is so gentle and hydrating that I have no problems leaving it on while I take a soak in the tub. Moreover, it does an amazing job of soothing my skin and eliminating redness. It has ingredients beyond just the CBD that act to calm sensitive skin, such as coconut oil, aloe, and hemp seed oil.
So whenever I’m close to my period, I’m always sure to reach for this mask and use it before Hell week arrives. It actually helps keep the cystic acne from fluctuating hormones at bay, and those that do manage to raise their ugly heads are quickly subdued and calmed by this CBD mask. At around 25 dollars, this mask ends up lasting me around two months- and that’s with constant weekly use. So if you need something to calm your skin or if you’re simply looking for a gentle mask for your self care bubble bath, this is the mask for you.
The Good Stuff Skin Care Guide 