neck care

All about Facial Oils!

Swati · July 18, 2018 · 21 Comments

Updated from 22nd September, 2013. If you have been following me for a long time, you would already be aware that I love facial oils. I have tried the carrier oils and the blended ones both and the best one till date was the grapeseed oil. I used one from soulflower but I am sure it would be the same in any brand. So, if you are looking for a good moisturizer or night cream, I would definitely suggest the grapeseed oil.

I love oils. In fact, so much so that I would love to own all the apothecaries in the world! And, recently again, due to improper care my skin started to look and behave a bit weird so I thought I would go about giving it a good dose of care which does not ruin my easy life either. And, I have plethora of oils in my closet!! I will share the ones in my closet soon. But, everyone is skeptical when they hear the term. So, first thing, a facial oil can be used by all skin types. You just have to use the right one for your skin.

How to find the best oil for yourself?

Is your skin dry? Go for coconut oil. It has the fatty acids which instantly lift and plump up the skin and hydrate it from inside.

I am not sure of almond oil. Some say that the molecules are too big to penetrate the skin so it does not really cause breakouts. But, I have no history of breakouts so I can not really answer that. But, it is great for under-eye area.

Olive oil is something I will never really recommend for hair or body. I have heard quite a lot of complaints about it but many raves also but personally my preference is not that. It is a known comedogenic.

Do you need to wash your face in the Morning?

Swati · May 16, 2018 · 12 Comments

Updated from 19th September, 2015. After a long long time, I am back with a skin care post. Yea!! I do have a lot of good news in my kitty but I shall go slow this time. I do not want to overwhelm myself 😀 So, yeah, lets go back to do you really wash your face in the morning or more correctly does your face need a wash in the morning?

Well, I am sure you obviously wash it! You would rather ask me if I had gone mad!!

Anyways, you remember the huge and awesome haul I shared with you a few weeks back from my Malaysia trip 🙂 I am still so excited about it that I am not able to decide what to use and when? Just yesterday, I tried out the SKII facial treatment mask (best part of a sheet mask is you do not have to wash your face later) and boy they are expensive as hell!!! So, was it worth it? No, I do not know. I still have 5 more and I would like to do a detailed review. Anyways, why am I even talking about masks?

Night Time Skin Care Routine

Yeah, right, I was talking about washing face in the morning. Now, let me just go back a little and talk about your night time skin care routine. So, what exactly do you do? Cleanse off your makeup, wash your face, tone it (optional) and moisturize. So, are you one who just prefers a single layer of one product or go with multiple products. Whatever the case be, you do cleanse your face properly at night, right? Then the question arises that what do you do in the morning?

You really do not have to wash your face in the morning but you need to clean the skin to get rid of all the dead skin cells and previous night skin care residue.

9+1 Steps to Glowing Skin

Swati · May 9, 2018 · 128 Comments

Updated from 29th April, 2015. I have never personally believed in striving for fair skin. In fact, I am wheatish to brown in skin tone and I love my skin. I like to keep it glowing and thus my fetish for using different products. So, here is my take on the popular 10-step Korean skin care routine for glowing skin.

Since quite long, I have been seeing a trend of questions from people who are either getting married or who have darker skin tones. They always want to know how to lighten their complexion or becomes fairer. So, first of all, I would like to say that you can’t really lighten the skin complexion. The skin color is determined by the amount of melanin your skin has and you can’t do anything to reduce the amount of this pigment inside your skin.

What you can instead do is focus on getting glowing skin and making sure your skin is not getting tanned or getting prone to hyperpigmentation which turns the skin darker than its original skin tone. So, the steps in your skin care routine should include protect and repair segments of products. Protection usually includes using sunscreen on a regular basis diligently and repair involves a plethora of other steps which I shall be discussing here.

Please note that the following skin care routine can also be termed as the new age skin care. I have tried to include everything I know here.

Protection Routine

Glowing Skin Step #1 – Vitamin C Serum

Contrary to usual belief, Vitamin C serums increase the strength of your sunscreen and do not make your skin photo toxic. It is only citrus fruits which make your skin so.

Face Cleanup at Home {DIY}

Swati · October 6, 2013 · 4 Comments

photo stock-photo-beautiful-young-woman-receiving-facial-massage-43575766_zpsb1884d44.jpg

Ok, this is just a DIY and is not supposed to mimic the parlor cleanups. I just randomly followed this routine one day and totally loved it so sharing it with you. You can do this when you think you can do with a little bit of pampering. I have already shared all the DIY’s in this post on the blog.

Ingredients

Face Wash
Homemade Body Polish
Deep Cleansing Mask
Nourishing Mask
Face Towel

Method

Wash your face and neck thoroughly to remove all grime and dirt. If makeup is already there, remove it properly using the double cleansing method.
Take this body polish and scrub your face and neck till all the granules melt off. This will take about 5-10 minutes at max.
Now, the next step is to use a deep cleansing mask or any mud mask which absorbs the toxins from the skin and leaves your skin glowing. Let the mask dry and wash off.
Now, to nourish the skin, you can take a nourishing face mask and apply a thick layer. Let it dry. Relax in the meantime. Wash off.
Follow with a toner or in my case aloevera gel. And, apply your favorite moisturizer or in my case a facial oil.

Body Polish

I have already shared the DIY on the blog here. I would strongly recommend you to use this. But, you are more than welcome to use a good face scrub if you own one. Also, after scrubbing, you can take the face towel and dip it in hot water and wash off your face with it (instead of steaming the face). This is just to open the pores.

Deep Cleansing Mask

Any clay mask is a deep cleansing mask. If you have one, that is more than enough. Otherwise, you can make one using multani mitti (fuller’s earth) and water itself. You need a mask which will only remove the toxins from the skin. The nourishment is the next step so don’t worry about it.

Recommended Masks:

Beauty Formulas Heat & Cleanse Clay Mask

Liz Earle Deep Cleansing Mask

Nourishing Mask

If you have a nourishing mask or a creamy or hydrating mask, that is good. Otherwise, you can make one using cocoa powder and honey. You can also add milk cream or fruit juices or banana.

Recommended Masks:

Biotique Bio Pistachio Ageless Nourishing and Revitalizing Face Pack

I would suggest any Biotique mask like milk cream or clove mask as well. They are all pretty nourishing.

So, that was my home DIY for face cleanup. Do you have any alternate ideas? Do Share!

Related Posts:

Turmeric infused Almond Oil

Mom’s Oil

Ginger infused Vinegar for Dandruff and Clarifying Hair

Do you find more dirt on your neck than face? {Your Opinion}

Swati · April 1, 2013 · 4 Comments

Hey! So, following the Clinique 3-step skin care system I have been almost regularly using a toner. I am loving it because it hydrates my skin and I get to remove the dead skin cells also with it. You should definitely check out what Paris talks about exfoliation while toning.

So, yes, since I have read her post and that was the same time I got to use the Clinique products, I decided to continue with the toning part. Right now, I am using Paul Penders which is an Australian brand. Anyways, coming back to the topic, I apply toner in the morning and evening both.

Now, I have noticed that in the morning even after washing my face, the cotton pad turns gray in color while wiping the toner and in the evening, it turns brown depending on whether my face got cleansed well or not otherwise sometimes it also turns gray.

What’s gray and brown? Gray are the dirty dead skin cells and brown is the left-over makeup and in my case sunscreen. So, it also becomes a good reason to double cleanse your face and neck instead of just using a face wash.

But, I have noticed consistently that more dirt is on the neck area than the face. I do not know why it would be so because I cleanse my face and neck equally while having the shower and I use my face cleanser till the décolletage! Have you ever face such an issue?

PS: Writing a post after so long feels really weird! I have been absent from the blog because of some issues and deadlines. And, now that I am back, I would like to remind you that I have rescheduled my timings. I shall be posting only three times a week – Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I want to follow this routine slowly and get back on track! Thanks a punch for your patience 🙂 And, yes, I remember I have to reply for the comments and the queries.

So, what do you say? Does your neck look more dirtier than the face?

What happens when you do not use Sunscreen? {Sunscreen}

Swati · September 27, 2012 · 4 Comments

This post is specially for people who have not yet adapted this routine thinking it to be just a frivolous stuff. Well, may be it was and that was the doubt which made me do this little experiment. I forgo-ed sunscreen for almost two weeks and now I am putting up these findings.

I have been using sunscreen more or less regularly since a year. And, I apply sunscreen only once in a day. But, I do apply a good amount of it for proper protection. And, yes, I do go out in the peak time of 10 AM – 4 PM as well. So, lets get on the with my findings.

My arms are back to whatever state they were tanned prior to my use of sunscreen. Interestingly, I observed the tanning only after a couple of days without sunscreen. The first day I didn’t apply sunscreen, my skin was looking more or less the same.

Talking about the face and neck, yes, they are also tanned. Not as much as my arms coz I did use sunscreen on and off. And, I am using a lightening oil as well at night to combat this tanning but still I know that my complexion has grown darker.

So, now that I know that sunscreen is extremely important to preserve my skin complexion, I would try not to skip it. And, this is my first advise to everyone who love their skin. Oh! Btw, please remember that the benefits of using sunscreen are apparent only if you use the proper amount and after around a month of use. That’s when you will see changed in your skin, be it color or texture.

So, what do you think? Do you find yourself getting tanned whenever you skip sunscreen?

Top 5 DIY Ingredients for Brides {Bridal Files}

Swati · March 8, 2012 · 25 Comments

So, as I said that I would be doing some posts on bridal series, the first and foremost request is always how to brighten the complexion.I am listing down 5 of the ingredients which can help a bride achieve the most wanted glow.

Tomato: Rub a slice of tomato on your face and neck. Let the juice dry on the skin and wash off with cold water. Tomato is great for removing the skin tan and also suits all skin types a sit is comparatively less acidic than lemon. And, it also makes hair shiny.

Honey: A thick honey mask helps to keep the skin supple and moisturized always. It can be used every day too and helps with all skin types. Honey is also a great cleanser.

Almond Oil: As Punam commented on earlier post, dark circles and puffy eyes are a common occurrence when one spends their nights talking to the fiancées, almond oil comes to rescue. Apply almond oil on the eye area while going to bed. It helps with the dark circles and also with wrinkles which might be developing there.

Sugar: Sugar is the most amazing and cheapest scrub you can ever find and this is my most favorite DIY till date. Sugar has glycolic acid in some measure (depending on how much it has been been processed) and thus cleanses and exfoliates the skin thoroughly and makes it glow. And, you can add your favorite ingredients to it.

Spices: A mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves did wonders to my skin. It clears the skin and also helps deal with acne and pimples in the long run. It should be used on alternate days for best results.

These are some of my favorite DIY’s with outstanding results so hope you will enjoy them 🙂 And, do remember to treat your neck as part of your face otherwise it can betray your age!!