Hiya!

Sorry for the long time no update but it's been a long two months for me. In the past two months I've been in makeup artistry school learning and practicing makeup, and then I had two weeks to let my face heal from the whole ordeal. I learned much in school and I'll probably end up sharing them randomly with you guys but in the mean time I will talk about something that drove me nuts during my time in school. Skin.

Now everyone knows that glowing beautiful skin is a sign of good health, and who wouldn't want to be in good health? It's also the canvas you work on when doing makeup and trust me when I say it's a LOT easier (Faster too) to do someone with nicer skin's makeup then it is doing someone who has, well, not so nice skin.

The caring and protecting

First thing is first, taking care of the skin properly is a major factor in having nice skin! Drinking lots of water keeps it hydrated and taking your vitamins (Especially omega-3) really does help (So does eating healthy, lots of fruits and vegetables). You'll notice that the Japanese tend to have really nice skin and that is mainly because fish is such a big part of their diet (lotsss of omega there!). Antioxidants are always good for the body as well, try eating more avocado, blueberries, and pomegranate or use an avocado mask. Along with eating well you have to care for the rest of your body as well, good food and hydration only go so far if you're staying up til 4 am sitting on the couch watching re-runs of your fav. show! Get your beauty sleep, there is a reason it's called that! Working out also helps you sweat out those nasty toxins in your body that may be part of the cause of bad skin. Remember to wash your face day and night and make sure it's clean! There was one girl I had to do makeup for who still had mascara left on from the day before! If you feel like you're not cleaning well enough use makeup remover first to remove all your makeup before washing your face with a cleanser. Of course, one VERY important step in caring for your skin is wearing sunscreen!! My boyfriend used to not wear sunscreen and his skin was already bad to begin with and after a trip to Vietnam he learned his lesson. Preferably one that is at LEAST SPF 30 with UVB and UVA protection (I recommend Neutrogena Ultra sheer dry touch sunscreen in SPF 55 or 100). Don't forget your lips and eyes when you're protecting your skin from the sun, use a lip balm and an eye cream that contain SPF!

The products

Okay, if you do all that great then you are a good step closer to having wonderful skin! Now come the products; along with having well hydrated skin, please exfoliate your skin even if it's a day or two away from a big night out and you're going to get your makeup done professionally. I can't tell you the countless times when I had to do some ones makeup and they had flakey skin (Not to mention my bad in forgetting and having flakey skin for people to work on)! If you have oily skin you can get away with exfoliating 1-3 times a week, for drier skin try to limit yourself to once or twice a week. There is nothing you can do about flakey skin don't try to cover it more as it will just look cakey, maybe add a bit more moisturizer in that area but for the love of god, don't over do the makeup! I have heard of MUFE HD elixer which I would love to try out if it weren't for the fact it's Sephora exclusive and online only *Grumble*.

Now, it's important to choose a moisturizer that is good for your skin type, a majority of the population has combination skin (Oily t-zone, dry everywhere else) and in major cases one may require two different products to control this problem. Otherwise there are a good amount of creams out there for you to pick. Remember to tone your face as well as this helps even out the pH of your skin which should be at about 5-5.6. If you find that you are extremely dry try a hydrating mask (Dior Hydraction has a nice one, but avocado mask is good too!), if you have lots of acne, blackheads, or really oily skin try a clay mask about once or twice a week.

Pre-makeup

Okay now you know about the protecting and caring for your skin, now there is a step I understand many women skip when putting makeup on and it's absolutely horrible! It's called primer people! Now, not only does primer make your makeup last longer it also protects your skin from the actual makeup itself which can clog your pores! Not to mention the dirt and grime that settles onto your face throughout the day!

If all else fails...

If you find that you have really bad acne that doesn't seem to go away perhaps it's time to see your derm about it, for some people it's genetic/hormonal. If you're on the pill it's a good to take it at the same time everyday to help prevent your hormones from fluctuating randomly. And that is all I have to say for today. Take good care of your skin. It's a good indicator or how fast you're aging. Now back to cleaning the house before I go biking.

-Very angry if she has to do makeup on bad skin, Brenda.

I was going to add pictures but my camera is broken...darn you camera...darn you.

The not so special skincare regimen of Brenda

Considering I am not home at the moment I may or may not take pictures later on tonight but since Christina posted her skincare line I figured, why not? I need a nice 'little' break from procrastinating anyways.

And this is how I prep my skin for everyday life and photos cause you never know!

Mornings
Ah yes glorious mornings where I wake up at 6 am to ready myself for another day of lectures. In the mornings I tend to take a shower first thing, I like to start my day clean as a whistle.

Dior Hydraction Rich Creme (Aut/Win)
Dior Hydraction Sorbet Creme (Spr/Sum)
A product I neither love, nor hate is it merely there. It keeps my skin hydrated (Though sometimes oily) and does not really do anything like cause breakouts (I have hormonal breakouts=( I know it's not from this) but like I said, I don't really love it, don't really hate it. One creme I love but can not afford is Lancome Secret de Vie, a luxurious amazing eye and face creme regimen that would cost almost $400 CAD every 6 months or so. It really makes my skin soft as a baby's behind.

Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Face and Body Lotion SPF 50
This is my never leave the house without some on product, I HATE getting tanned! Sunscreen is so important I totally don't want skin cancer! I can not stress the importance of sunscreen enough, and this particular sunscreen (I think it's available as 55 in the US but it's only in 50 in Canada =( boo...) makes my skin feel soft not sticky! Shiseido also does not contain any pore clogging ingredients however it is a bit pricey for a bottle of one of these babies.

Diorskin Icone Photo Perfect Creme To Powder Makeup in Transparent
I use this as a primer before foundation it causes a really soft feel on the face and even alone makes any pictures look a Heeellllz of a lot better. It is spf25 ( Yes more spf) and evens out the skin tone, pricey as to be expected from Dior for such a small little thing, but a little goes a long way.

After that it's foundation (If any) Concealer and...

Makeup Forever Microfinish Powder
This product, is god sent. My skin is matte throughout the day and looks flawless, unlike the Anna Sui ones I've tried it does not change the color of my face (Or make it look like I decided to dive into a pool of sparkles) definitely worth a try! If memory serves me correctly they're about $31 CAD?

After that it's makeup and go.

Night
It's the most wonderful time of the dayyyyyy *whistle*
The night time is the only time many of us finally get our 'me' time and it's glorious, abso-freaking-lutely glorious.

Dior Gel de Lait Magique Cleansing gelee For Face, Lips and Eyes
When I'm wearing makeup I like removing it before I actually start cleansing my face, it helps my face get CLEAN. Here's a test for all of you that clean your face and don't use makeup remover before or after, clean your face and then use some makeup remover and just go over your face, if it's clean then good job, if it's not you might want to consider using makeup remover before hand. This isn't the best but it isn't bad (Though it irritates my eyes at times), so it will stay until it's gone and then I shall try Lancome Bi-Facil.

Neutrogena The Wave
Now I'm not one to give into advertising easily but damn, this really does do what it says! On the site I believe it says that most users felt their skin was softer and cleaner after the first use, and boy did it! Though it works great avoid your eyes (Ye have been warned!) however, each pad is only a one time use (15 pads come with and refills have 30 pads and a new attachment head) and I hate that because of all the waste it causes! Not very environmentally friendly so I might just have to find an alternative =(. (p.s Clean and Clear has blackhead controlling pads that fit PERFECTLY onto this.)

The Body Shop Moisture White Toning Essence
When I first bought this product I was pretty much yelling 'Sweet vitamin C and whitening totally rad dudes!' only later to discover there is alcohol denat in it =/ it hasn't done anything to my skin yet however I probably won't be buying it again because of the alcohol denat. I love you body shop, but why? WHY?*Bursts into tears* I will most likely be trying their vitamin E, Aloe, or Seaweed toner instead.

Dior Hydraction Rich Creme (Aut/Win)
Dior Hydraction Sorbet Creme (Spr/Sum)
No spf in these so no worries.

Dior-Capture R60/80 First wrinkles Smoothing Cream
Now I don't have any wrinkles yet (Though with the way things are going I wouldn't be surprised if I'll be getting some soon) But I got this as a sample, a full sized sample. Yes, I said full sized, how? Well I shall tell you after my whole regimen (And no I didn't steal it!). But this is okay, I'm definitely not going to BUY it if anything I'd go with hydraction but yeah it was free might as well use it up first.

After this depending if I have any acne or anything I put on acne medication, tweeze the eyebrows, and you know that kind of stuff.

Bi-weekly
I say Bi- weekly because I don't do it all the time, it's unnecessary.

Dior Magical Radiance Exfoliating Face Scrub
This particular product feels like scrubbing sand on your face, and that's how I like it. I like my exfoliators to feel like they're doing something and not just look like their doing something because they have a bunch of little orbs in them that barely do anything but actually feel like they're removing dead skin since I have flaky skin at times. If I could I'd use sand but if I clogged the sink Whooooaaa neelly would I be in for it.

Lancome Pure Empreinte Purifying Mineral Mask with White Clay
Christina has told you about this product, nothing more I need to add.

Okay so that is my not-as-extensive-as-Christina's skincare regimen but here it is. Now I said earlier that I had gotten a full sized Dior Eye creme free, well it wasn't 'Free' per sey considering how much I pay for Dior most of the time anyways. So here is the thing, I love Dior and to do this you have to be willing to spend at least once or twice a month and only go to one counter. This way you get to know the MA's and they will notify you when there are events or upcoming releases if you shop enough and depending on the MA they may start giving you random gifts. After a year of going to the Dior counter once a month (But I bought loads while I was there) the MA began giving me gifts every time I went to the counter after that I went once every two weeks to buy one item and sooner or later I only went when I needed something but I still got the gift even when it wasn't gift with purchase! Sadly she is no longer employed at the Dior counter so it's sad but life goes on but I still have my lovely Chanel MA. If anything though I'm over paying so much for makeup, I'll have the occasional splurge yes but it's really not worth it.

Now here is something I want everyone to think about. What to you is beauty? Not what the media tells you, but truly what do you think (And it's not wrong to hold the same beliefs as the media as long as the media did not make you believe them)? I believe that everyone is an individual, so beauty is really in the eyes of the beholder but confidence is one of the most beautiful things a person can have. No one should ever try to change themselves because the world around them says their not beautiful, eventually we should realize that it doesn't matter what they think all that matters is when you look in the mirror you go "Wow, I'm beautiful!". I HATE seeing people being put down because they don't meet the 'beauty standards' of society!

Happy Breast Cancer Awareness Month, now go out and do something!

-It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's Brenda procrastinating.

Christina's Daily Skincare Routine

How is everyone today?
I am chin deep in homework T_T Arg!! I also have so many midterms/quizzes/tests coming up in the next few weeks!! GAHHH!! I need a break -___-;
I thought I could start off by showing what I use on a daily basis for my skincare routine.
I do use different products for day & night and am picky about my products..
As you can see, I own nothing that contains an SPF. The reason for that is because I have the (horrible) allergy to sunscreen and any product containing SPF, therefore I will not be able to review any products that contain any sort of sunscreen/SPF.
IF you do not have the same (stupid) allergy as I, I would advise you to use one with it!!
Protect your skin people!!!

I'll start off with a picture of the collection....

Daytime:

Cleanser: Laneige Star Pure Water Foam
I absolutely loooooooooove this stuff!! It is an easy pump dispenser and comes around already foaming for you~ haha my only gripe about this is that it is easy to dispense too much product when only a bit of it should be sufficient. It makes your skin feel ultra smooth after using it and I'm kinda obsessed with keeping my skin pale (I look like a gorilla when I have a tan *cries*) so this helps a bit with "brightening of the skin".

Toner: Lancome Tonique Douceur Alcohol-Free Freshener
Very nice toner. I avoid anything with alcohol since it irritates skin like crazy!! This one seems to work really well with my skin as do most Lancome products.

Serum: Chanel Purete Ideale Serum
I use this before my moisturizer to help with oil control. And, arg, the second ingredient is Alcohol Denat which is really bad for your skin. I bought it even though it had that in it (stupid, I know >_<), so I'm just going to use this until I run out and buy one without skin irritating ingredients. So far though, it hasn't been horrible to my skin.

Moisturizer: Chanel Hydramax + Active Gel Cream
I've found myself to have oily-dehydrated skin. Cream moisturizers were always too heavy and gel moisturizers have always dried my skin out(arg!!). One day, my MA from Chanel gave me a sample of this stuff and, oh man, was I hooked! The tiny, tiny, little sample lasted me about a month(not even joking!), had the perfect texture, and didn't dry out my skin! It's a bit pricey, but when I find something that works, I'm hooked!!

Nighttime:
Cleanser: Chanel Systeme Purete La Mousse
At the end of the day, this is the stuff I rely on to get all the makeup, dirt and oil off my face! It's a wonderful cleanser with little green micro beads in it that make your skin feel clean and soft after you've used it. The only thing is, if you're looking for an exfoliator, this is not for you! It's purely a cleanser as those little micro beads are barely enough to be a good enough exfoliator. Lucky that I am just looking for a nice cleanser for the end of the day!

Toner: Lancome Tonique Douceur Alcohol-Free Freshener
Same as Daytime.

Serum: Chanel Purete Ideale Serum
Same as Daytime.

Moisturizer: The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil Blemish Fade Night Lotion
I've had acne for years now... and this stuff helped out a lot! I'm not sure how well it does for fading those scars, but it definitely helped me out with preventing them! It's a light texture and a little bit of it goes a lot. You do get a tiny bottle but it's worth it (for me at least!).

Others: (Sorry, I didn't take a picture of them!! >_<)
Exfoliator: Laneige Strawberry Yogurt Peeling Gel
HG Status!!!!!! It is, in my opinion, the BEST exfoliator I've ever used in my life! It has little bit of actually strawberry in it that really get the job done. This stuff is absolutely amazing. Basically, it's a pink, chunky gel-like substance that you use to scrub your face for 1 minute. After washing it off, your skin is baby smooth *love* wonderful =)

Spot Treatment: Fruit of the Earth 100% Aloe Vera Gel
A giant bottle of aloe gel for about $5 at walmart? I'm sold! Honestly, in the early stages of my horrid acne, THIS is what helped me come to what it is today (somewhat controlled!! Yay~). Even now, I still include this in my routine. I use this as a spot treatment for any breakouts that still occasionally pop up and if I ever get a popped pimple, I just dab a bit of this on and put a tissue over it (think like when guys get razor cuts)! It works really well with helping me control those pesky little things =P

Mask: Lancome Pure Empreinte
This is a wonderful mineral mask with white clay. Basically, you slap this on your face and rinse it off in about 5 minutes (it dries really fast). It makes your skin so smooth.. and a little bit goes a very long way! It's helped a lot with my blackheads.. I have a lot less now on my nose (yay)! It's a bit pricey, but oh so good =P haha This is used once a week as well (not on the same day as my exfoliator though!! I don't want to irritate my skin =/).

Anyways, that is all of it! I use a lot of product, don't I? But this is the consistent routine that has made my skin loads better.. so I will continue with it! I've already been trying out this Garnier Nutritioniste anti-puff eye roller. I'm not sure how it's doing so far.. It's only been a week! I probably will come back with a review on that later =P I have many, many reviews to do on tons of makeup products (mascaras, get ready to feel my wrath!), so please look forward to them!
Until next time~!

Much <3
-Christina