Good Morning! Good Night! Current Skin Care Routines.

CLEANSE
Sukin Sensitive Skin Cleansing Gel : $9.99 available from www.priceline.com.au
There is totally no need for harsh cleansers on your skin in the morning, you have just been sleeping for a good 8hours (hopefully!) so its not like there is going to much to cleanse off anyway. The Sukin Sensitive Cleansing Gel is so gentle and soothing it massages into your skin and feels so silky. Sukin has no synthetic fragrances and no minerals which brings a huge smile to my face - because seriously you don't need your cleanser to smell like anything and fragrance is the most common ingredient that will make you break out!

TONE
Origins Purifying Tonic : $39.00 available from www.kitcosmetics.com.au
Ok so excuse me while I nerd out on my favourite topic : Organic Skin Care. Willow Bark is a natural ingredient which is extremely soothing but also a natural source of Salicylic Acid! Which is a form of exfoliant, after cleansing I wipe the Origins Purifying Tonic all over my face with a cotton round. I've found this has helped with dry spots and also redness and discolouration left from old spots.

MOISTURIZE
Embryolisse Lait Creme Concerntrate : $32.00 available from www.makeupandglow.com.au
So frenchy - So chic! This moisturizer is commonly used by Makeup Artists to prep models skin before shows, also Lisa Eldridge uses so it must be good. It applies really smoothly and doesn't take forever to sink into the skin leaving a dewy finish. I like it and I think it is a good moisturizer but apart from hydrating there isn't many other benefits to this product, no SPF or super vitamins. But great under makeup if you are going for a night out.

CLEANSE
Cetaphil Oily Skin Cleanser : $15.40 available from www.chemistwarehouse.com.au
Clarisonic Mia : $204.00 available from www.feelunique.com
My cleansing power couple are still going strong, nothing is even comparable to the combination of Cetaphil's Oily Skin Cleanser and my Clarisonic Mia, it leaves your skin so soft and also any product I use after cleansing will sink into my skin so much more effectively. I found that using the Clarisonic in the morning didn't work for me because it opened my pores too much letting makeup in making me break out but using it at night time is perfect.

SKIN SERUM
La Mav Antioxidant Rich Nightly Repair Nectar : $69.95 available from www.lamav.com
You know you love a product when it gets forgotten for a couple of days and you notice you skin is lacking in softness. Waking up in the morning after applying the Nightly Repair Nectar my skin is plump and super hydrated, don't be scared of oils in your skin care routine if you have naturally oily skin. Oils can balance your skin out so your skin doesn't feel the need to overly produce natural oils through out the day. Which is great! No more oily T-Zone freak out mid afternoon.

EYES
The Body Shop Elderflower Eye Gel : $17.00 available from www.thebodyshop.com.au
Heads up..... Get an eye cream. The skin around your eyes is thinner than anywhere else on your body it needs a little extra TLC. The Body Shop's Elderflower Eye Gel is super cooling and putting it on feels incredible it is also super hydrating which what an eye cream should be all about. Also FYI no cream will take away wrinkles or lines its impossible! A good eye cream should hydrate and plump the skin around the eye area so that wrinkles and lines are less obvious and your makeup wont crease.

LIPS
Lucas Paw Paw Ointment : $4.40 available from www.chemistwarehouse.com.au
My relationship with Lucas Paw Paw ointment is longer than any boyfriend I have ever had, we have been going steady since my mum put it on my bum for nappy rash. Applying lip balm before bed is a really good habit to get into, during the day you just eat it off. Letting it absorb into your lips overnight is far more effective.

This routine is surely going change - it always does!

I'm curious..does your skin care routine differ morning and night or am I just a crazy skin care junkie?

xoxo Nella

Clarisonic Review + Skin Care Routine Update

It has been 3 months since I started using my Clarisonic Mia and only now has my skin been stabilizing into some sort of normality. So I feel ok about doing an in depth review of the Clarisonic, my skin has gone through all the 'stages' of the first few months of starting using an electronic sonic skin brushing machine daily. I'm going to break it down zits and all for you month by month here goes:

MONTH ONE:

I had seen all these girls on youtube saying they were using a Clarisonic, Emily from Into The Gloss (probably the coolest girl in the world) she had one, then my friend Dane was like 'Who are you? You have a beauty blog and no Clarisonic?' so I picked one up. Feeling slightly like a chump sucker for paying $145.00 for a skin machine. Firstly I started using it with the cleanser it came with - Do not do that, also I didn't know you had to really wash the brush with warm water to soften the bristles before you go in on your face with it. So first results of the Clarisonic were a very raw red sore dry flakey face. By the third week I had mastered the application process and started using the Dove Cucumber Hydrating Face Wash with it, which was working well and I even started recommended the Clarisonic to friends.

Then dooms day hit mid way through week three : PURGING  PHASE STARTED - this is a well documented phase for the new Clarisonic user. Basically how the Clarisonic works is the brush head rotates using sonic technology, stimulating and clearing pores also brushing off a good amount of dead skin at the same time. When the pores are disturbed little bits of muck and dirt come to the surface and they can become irritated and infected = MASSIVE PIMPLES. Like bigger pimples than when I was a spotty teen. I didn't leave the house for days and googled remedies for hours at a time.

MONTH TWO:

Going into month two I was deep in Clarisonic depression thinking I had adult acne, but I kept going with two changes in place. 

1. I started using a very sensitive non foaming face wash with my Clarisonic the Elemis Sensitive Cleansing Wash, it contained anti-bacterial  properties to help the pores from being infected.

2. Toner came into my life - never before have I been a toner girl. My mum refused to get me the Clinique 3 step thing all the other girls at high school. The toner Mario Badescu's Glycolic Acid Toner closed the pores and also wiped off any extra bacteria lurking about. 

The rest of the month flew by my skin becoming extremely clear, glowing even if I do say so myself. Blemishes at bay, the texture of my skin had changed and become smoother and my T-zone was now less oily too. 

MONTH THREE:

I have cut down my Clarisonic use to once a day morning or night, but only once so that skin had enough time to readjust and recover. My skin is basically the best it has EVER BEEN! I still get cystic acne break outs - the sore pimples which never actually have top, I cannot stop these because they are caused by hormones. I am going to keep going with my current routine below and hope that my skin doesn't go through another 'phase'. 

CLARISONIC TIPS:

1. Rinse brush head well with warm water before you start your cleansing routine and clean with anti-bacterial soap once a week.

2. You can NEVER shrink your pores - its genetic. Sorry. But you can reduce the appearance by clearing them out. 

3. Do not use an abrasive cleanser with your Clarisonic, no scrubs. Stick to a gel or cream cleanser.

4. Although the Clarisonic is not marketed as an exfoliator - I stopped all other physical exfoliation and started using chemical exfoliants (AHA's) like the Mario Badescu Glycolic Acid Toner.

5. Everyone should start with the gentle brush head, if you want to change brush heads, do lots of research beforehand.

CLARISONIC FRIENDLY CLEANSERS:

1. Dove Face Wash $5.99 Cheap and foams up when used with the Clarisonic

2. Elemis Pro-Radiance Cream Cleanser $46.95 Very creamy and Hydrating

3. Decléor Aroma Cleanse  $31.45 Very very gentle - this will not remove make up at all.

4. Aésop Parsley Seed Cleansing Oil $55.00 Gelish and oilish this is great if you have acne which is coming to the surface.

5. Dr Bronner Castile Liquid Soap - Peppermint $25.50 No foaming agents and very organic - if that matters to you.

MY CURRENT SKIN CARE ROUTINE:
Step 1: Cetaphil Oily Skin Cleanser $15.40 To remove make up.
Step 2: Clarisonic Mia $134.95 with Elemis Sensitive Cleansing Wash $33.00
Step 3: Mario Basescu Glycolic Acid Toner $28.95
Step 4 Day: La Roche Posay Effaclar M Daily Mattifying Moisturizer $32.00
Step 4 Night: Antipodes Joyous Protein Rich Night Replenishment Serum $62.90