Tagged: Kate Somerville

Products I’ve Used Up

We love all the blog posts and videos on beauty products other people have used up, also called “empties”.  It’s a testament to what they think of the product – whether they are willing to use it up puts them in a better position to review the effectiveness of it.  Here are products that our co-founder Judy has used up in the past couple of months and her thoughts on them.

The Good:

Kate Somerville Purify Exfoliating Cleanser – My favorite face wash of all time (reviewed here).  Highly recommend this to anyone looking for a clarifying facial wash.

tarte emphasEYES aqua gel eyeliner in dark brown – LOVE this gel eyeliner (reviewed briefly here).  It has a cooling effect and goes on incredibly smoothly.  Set with an eyeshadow, it will last all day.  Definitely will repurchase this.

Yes to Cucumbers Facial Towelettes – I’m on my 4th pack of these – so refreshing and easy to use.  It’s not very effective at removing waterproof eye makeup, but it’s very cooling to use and just feels like a rejuvenating experience at the end of the day.  Favorite face wipes and will continue to repurchase.

Desert Essence Coconut Shampoo – A really good sulfate-free, paraben-free shampoo with a lovely coconut scent.  It’s too heavy for my fine, oily hair, but for those with thicker, dryer hair types, it will be amazing.  I got mine at Whole Foods.

tarte Amazonian Clay tinted moisturizer in shade agent 14 – I LOVE this tinted moisturizer (reviewed briefly here).  I would definitely repurchase this once I’m done with the two other tinted moisturizers I have.

The “Bad”:

Shiseido Multi-Defense UV Protector SPF 50 PA+++ – An impulse purchase duty-free in the Taipei airport.  Works well under makeup.  Very silicone-y feeling, heavily fragranced. If that’s your thing, then you might like it.  Because I’m trying to use more natural products, I don’t recommend this.

Kiehl’s Ultimate Strength Hand Salve – This is a GREAT hand moisturizer (this was my 4th or 5th tube) – it’s not greasy and it is extremely effective at moisturizing.  It also smells faintly of peppermint, which is nice.  However, it has parabens, and for that I won’t be repurchasing.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar K – I really liked this as an effective daily acne preventative (reviewed briefly here).  I’m not sure I would repurchase, because I am trying to look for more natural alternatives (currently using Boscia Willow Bark Breakout Treatment – current opinion is “meh”).

The Pricey:

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15 – This was part of the Sephora birthday gift this year, so it was a smaller deluxe sample size.  I’ve purchased the full-size before in various shades (Rose and Honey), and I like it.  It’s definitely a pricey lip balm at $20+.  I wouldn’t recommend it unless you find it in your budget.

Natura Bisse NB Ceutical Tolerance Booster – This was a deluxe sample size from BeautyBar.com, and I LOVED IT.  It was the perfect lightweight serum, and it seemed to provide a glow.  No irritation whatsoever, mild scent.  Spending $225 on the full-size is a bit egregious for a startup budget, but if it’s within your price range, then I HIGHLY recommend it.

 

Any questions about these products or stories about your empties? Shoot us a comment!

Acne for the 21+ crowd

A recent article from The New York Times reported that acne isn’t just something that only teens deal with.  45% of women between 21 and 30 have acne, 26% between 31 to 40, and 12% between 41 and 50.

From the article:

There is no definitive proof that specific foods cause breakouts, but some medical professionals say diet can play a role. “Whenever hormones surge — around your period, during perimenopause and menopause, when you’re pregnant, when you start or stop the Pill, and, yes, when you’re stressed or eat hormone-enhanced foods, i.e. nonorganic meat and dairy, skin changes can occur.”

I know a lot of the 21 and up crowd out there will agree with me that stress plays a HUGE role in your skin.  I’ve personally experienced this during stressful times at school and work – my skin will completely freak out in parts of my face that don’t typically break out, around the periphery of my face and where the hollows of my cheekbones would be if I had them.

I’ve been trying to deal with this with my usual arsenal of products:

In addition to stress, diet supposedly causes acne breakouts as well but there seems to be mixed research on this.  According to another article,

Diary and sugar (in all its blood sugar raising forms)–both cause spikes in certain pimple producing hormones. Dairy boosts male sex hormones (various forms of testosterone or androgens) and increases insulin levels just as foods that quickly raise blood sugar (sugar and starchy carbs) spike insulin.

I’ve heard of many cases where women cut out dairy to clear up their skin.  I’m currently experimenting to see if this might work for me, so I’m replacing dairy with soy milk.  I’ve only been trying this for about a week so far so it’s too early to tell.  Overall, I find that my skin in general is much more sensitive to the food I’m eating – I used to be able to eat salty snacks on end with no visible evidence on my face, but now it’s not the case.  Lots of water and eating fresh foods definitely help detoxify inside and out.

How do you treat acne?  Do you eat/avoid certain foods?