Repost: How to deal with Acne?

Hey guys, I just wanted to do this re-post from my favorite blogger Temptalia (http://www.temptalia.com/) with regard on dealing with Acne.  This post opened my eyes on what I am doing wrong as well as what I can do in the future to prevent acne.  I have combination skin which is acne prone, whenever I have acne it does not go away quickly compared to other people's skin.  I hope this helps.

xoxo,
Rain

Beauty Tips: How to handle a blemish? by Renee Rouleau

Skincare expert and esthetician Renee Rouleau is back with a video on how best to handle blemishes — plus 11 causes for acne blemishes:

Cause for acne blemishes #1

Do you touch your face a lot? This may come as a surprise, but subconsciously touching your face all day makes it quickly become the dirtiest part of your body. While it’s important to wash your skin every night, it’s much better to try to prevent your hands from touching your face unnecessarily.
Skin Tip: Keep your hands occupied. Get any kind of toy or gadget that you can play with in your hands at times when you are most likely to be touching your skin. This will help tremendously. I personally love Tangle toys. The small version is great and fun to fidget with to keep your hands busy.

Cause for acne blemishes #2

Have you been eating more dairy than normal lately? When you develop cystic breakouts (those hard, painful, underground blemishes that linger for weeks) on the chin, jaw line and neck area, it might be a sign that you’re getting more dairy in your diet than your body can tolerate. Your skin acts as an excretory system to get rid of things that your body is not in agreement with, so when you get too much dairy, it is by nature harder to digest and can come out in the form of cystic blemishes in the lower area of the face.
Skin Tip: The best way to determine if your acne cysts are directly related to your intake of dairy is to completely cut dairy out of your diet for two weeks. If you don’t develop any new cysts and you normally would have by now, then this might solve your problem! It doesn’t mean that you cannot eat any dairy at all. Slowly introduce dairy back into your diet, and the point you start breaking out again is your body’s tolerance level.

Cause for acne blemishes #3

Have you been under tremendous stress? Aside from my experience confirming this is true, the Stanford University School of Medicine conducted one such study in 2002. It was a small study that involved students suffering from acne. The college professors involved in the study conclusively proved that the exam stress worsened acne in these students. According to researchers, their findings indicated “Subjects who had the greatest increases in stress during examination periods also had the greatest exacerbation in acne severity”.
Stress not only affects acne flare-up. In general, it worsens the overall skin condition. It induces the adrenal glands into overproduction of cortisol, a steroid, which in turn makes sebaceous glands produce more oil and make skin extra oily. Thus the reason why in stressful periods, people experiencing an increase in acne get more inflamed, puss-filled papules than simple whiteheads or blackheads.
Skin Tip: The easiest solution to reducing stress is to get 7-8 hours of sleep every night.

Cause for acne blemishes #4

Do you not wash your skin at night? Oil on the skin makes for a breeding ground of bacteria, and bacteria will cause blemishes. Sleeping with not only your makeup on, but also the addition of oil, dirt and debris that has built up on the skin during the day, can absolutely trigger new blemishes.
Skin Tip: The #1 reason why someone won’t wash his or her face at night is out of exhaustion. I certainly understand the discipline and effort it requires to perform your nighttime skin care routine, especially when you’re exhausted. But, you really must do it. It’s that simple.

Cause for acne blemishes #5

Have you started using new skin care products? When your skin is introduced to new products, sometimes you might get some initial blemish purging, especially if the products are giving your skin more exfoliation than normal. If it continues on more than two weeks, then they may not be a good fit for your skin.
Skin Tip: When introducing new products to your skin, it’s always recommended to use one product for 3-4 days before adding in a second one. If your skin is reacting negatively, you’ll be able to determine which product you should discontinue. Get products recommended for your skin type by choosing one of our nine skin types.

See 5 more causes! 

Cause for acne blemishes #6

Are you about to start your menstrual cycle? Many women can experience a surge of blemishes at the start of their monthly cycle. This is completely normal, but can be very frustrating.
Skin Tip: Taking Vitamin B-6 daily one week prior to your cycle will help regulate hormonal imbalances, which can lead to breakout. Calcium-magnesium supplements can also help when taken during this time. It’s also advisable to use an antibacterial cleanser such as our AHA/BHA Cleansing Gel during the time when you know that you’ll get blemishes.

Cause for acne blemishes #7

Are you peri-menopausal or going through menopause? Hormones are chemical messengers, created by our bodies to regulate everything from metabolism to cell growth to reproductive cycles and mood. When they fluctuate, they can trigger weight gain, depression, sleeplessness and fatigue in addition to adult acne and breakouts. A common sign for hormonal imbalances is when your monthly cycle is inconsistent and sporadic, or has recently stopped.
Skin Tip: It’s advised to check with your physician to see if they have any recommendations to treat the imbalance internally.

Cause for acne blemishes #8

Have you flown on a plane recently in the last three days? I can attest to this one. Flying on an airplane absolutely throws my skin out of whack. The cabins of airplanes have extremely low humidity, which cause the skin to get extremely dehydrated (lack of water). The dry air looks for moisture where it can get it and that means robbing it right from your skin! The dehydrated cells cause a buildup, which can trap oil underneath the skin resulting in post-flight breakouts.

Cause for acne blemishes #9

Have the weather temperatures been fluctuating from day to day? When the season is changing and the weather is warm one day and cold the next, it can wreak havoc on the skin, leaving it confused, unbalanced, and prone to blemishes.
Skin Tip: This is a time to adjust your skin care routine slightly, not go for a major overhaul. Many people feel like they need to switch their entire routine to acne products, but that’s over-compensating and will only leave your skin dried out and irritated. A great way to address the sudden breakouts is to temporarily switch to products using Salicylic Acid like our AHA/BHA Cleansing Gel.

Cause for acne blemishes #10

Have you started taking a new medication? Every drug will affect the body differently, but generally speaking, medications and drug use can cause stress on the nervous system, which elevates hormones (adrenals). This will contribute to the wear and tear of connective tissue resulting in flaccid, loose, sagging skin as well as increased blemishes.
Skin Tip: Consult with your physician.

Cause for acne blemishes #11

Have you recently introduced the use of the Clarisonic brush? Electric brushes such as the Clarisonic can be too stimulating on the skin for some people, resulting in breakouts. For many, the exfoliation benefit it provides can actually help lessen breakouts, but I know for me personally, it caused my skin to get more blemishes.
Skin Tip: If you suspect it may be causing you more blemishes, try discontinuing the brush or use it less often to see if blemishes lessen. Read: Skin care expert, Renée Rouleau reviews the Clarisonic brush.
So there you have it. Eleven possible causes for acne breakouts, pimples and blemishes. There are more than eleven causes, but these are the most common. — Renee Rouleau

Review: Skin 79 Hot Pink BB Cream

So, reading various beauty blogs (especially Asian) I came accross a product named BB Creams. 

What is a BB Cream? (It's always the first question)
It is basically a tinted moisturizer with added benefits, most of them claims to act as a sunscreen, moisturizer and anti-aging in one.  Most BB Creams have very high SPF and have whitening ingredients.

Now on to my favorite BB Cream, Skin 79 Hot Pink BB Cream!!!!

What is it?
TOTAL SOLUTION BB CREAM WITH 10-IN-1 EFFECTS. Moisture based triple function BB cream takes care of the base as well as colour makeup and allows the skin to look bright and natural without greasiness or feeling tight.

It claims to have lighter feel and enhanced oil control, with whitening and wrinkle prevention.

My experience:
I have tried a couple of BB creams all my makeup life and so far this is the best.  The formula is thick, thus I find it easier if I apply this using my hands for it to spread evenly.  At first it looks greyish but after a few minutes it would adjust to match my skin tone.  Oil control is very good compared to other foundations.  Coverage is light to medium and it gives you that natural looking glow.  This BB Cream is not scented which I also love, I do not like products which gives you strong scents (like mint, rose, etc) as I worry that my face will smell the same.  Good for everyday use and does not break me out.  I still use a moisturizer before I put this on, I believe that with it's oil controlling properties my face dries out if I don't use moisturizer.

PROs:
- Good oil control
- Does not cause break-outs
- Good for everyday use
- Good benefits: sunscreen, whitening and anti-aging

CONs:
- Pricey, BB Creams are more expensive than drugstore foundations or other tinted moisturizers.  But I think its worth it if you're looking for an all-in-one product.
- Not available in the UK - I think this also adds to the cost (exchange rate, shipping, etc)
- Only comes in  a limited number of shades - BB Creams are targeted for the Asian market, thus shades are very very very limited

Overall, I really recommend this BB Cream, and I do hope you guys would give it a try.  I really love the finish and feel and I do believe that it helps my skin a lot.

Have you tried BB Creams before? Do share!

Makeup? What makeup? A makeup story

As long as I can remember, I wasn't into makeup.  I started using makeup when I was in highschool, I saw my classmates using clear mascara, eyelash curler, lipgloss and pink powder.  At that age, everybody thought girls using makeup are beautiful and since I didn't have that much money I experimented with my mom's makeup collection (just like the rest of us).  I started using her lipstick, just to see how it looks on me, and she would reprimand me on this saying that makeup are not for little girls.

When I started working, our culture is very conservative and you don't really see people wearing makeup all the time (only on special events and is usually done by a professional).  Thus my interest was again placed on hold, I would randomly buy one or two items that are usually cheap and not branded then that's it.

My interest grew when I started working abroad and watching all the makeup videos in YouTube.  It got me thinking, since I have money why not make myself look better? And so I experimented and I experimented very often using the techniques I learned from the different gurus.  To date, I don't consider myself an expert on makeup and it would be milestones before I become a guru but at least I know what colors and techniques works for me.

In the end, makeup should be about making you feel confident and not turning you into a whole different person.  It should still make you look like you and not somebody else.  It's enhancing your natural features.

I will forever love makeup, it really fascinates me.

And to other women out there, I hope it inspires you too.

xoxo,
rain