Category: skincare

DIY: Best Pore Strips

I have found the best pore strips there are, and they are not the ones shown above, which I bought on Ebay a little time ago and they turned out to be no good. The best pore strips are the one you can do yourself with just two products; milk and gelatin. Gelatin is a substance that is used a  gelling agent in food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetic manufacturing. I have learned this simple recipe to create pore strips from a video by Michelle Phan on YouTube HERE.

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What you need:
♥ 1 tsp milk
♥ 1 tsp gelatin

What I do:
I put the milk and gelatin into a small container like the one you can see above and the heat them up, you can use the microwave for about 10 seconds or use hot water and put the container in it just until the gelatin dissolves. You are left with a gooey substance that you can apply to whichever part of your face you want to apply the pore strip. You can either make use of a cheap brush that you don’t care much for or you can use your fingers, which is what I do, since the last time I tried to use a brush I nearly ruined it as once the gelatin sets within the bristles it is very hard to remove. You can apply it to your nose or your chin depending where you have blackheads that you want to remove. Let it set for about 10 minutes and then gently peel off. Make sure to apply a nice even layer all over the area you want to remove the dirt.

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Hope you get a chance to try this out as it is a real easy and cheap way to make use of pore strips more frequently as they can get pricey and have clean and clear pores. I try to do it once a week or every two weeks, depends on the weather and on my skin. Remember to apply a nice moisturizer when you are done as the skin can get dry.

Do you make use of pore strips? Have you ever tried to do them yourself?

Product Review: Avon Blemish Treatment

I have acne prone skin, so I include a blemish treatment for my spots or any acne that appears on my skin, in my daily facial routine. I have tried several of these blemish treatments over time and the Avon Clear Skin Blemish Treatment is one of my favorites. This blemish treatment is in the form of a clear gel that dries to an invisible finish on the skin so it is very useful if you want to apply this and leave it on your face as it leaves no trace. This product contains 2% Salicylic Acid, which works to dry out the blemishes and the product comes in a tube with 15ml of product. This product can be found on their website HERE.

What they claim:
Clears up acne pimples & helps prevent new blemishes. Attacks acne on the spot. See results in 24 hours!

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What I think:
This product is quite a mild treatment and if like me you have some bad acne on your skin, then this treatment is not enough. However, I find that if I’m having a good skin day but I still have some mild spots coming on, this treatment is quite helpful as it reduces the spots without drying out the skin around it which can happen with many other more aggressive blemish treatments. What I do, is apply a tiny amount on the spot and let it sit on my skin. I sometimes also use this product through the night, I apply it before going to bed and in the morning the blemish is visibly reduced.

I have bought this product with my own money from eBay, but I’don’t remember how much it cost exactly, but as with all products Avon, it is quite affordable. I also did a Neutrogena blemish treatment review HERE.

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Have you tried any blemish treatments? What do you think about this product?

Product Review: Karin Herzog Vita-A-Kombi 3

During the Christmas Season the lovely people at R8 Beauty where holding loads of Give Aways or Sweepstakes as they are called and I was lucky enough to win one of the Karin Herzog Face Creams. The product is called Vita-A-Kombi 3 and it is a face cream that you put over areas where you are having blemishes or break outs. I was thrilled at the idea of such a product as I have very acne prone skin and it is also very sensitive.

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I’d never tried any of the products from this brand and to tell you the truth had never even heard about the brand before I saw the products on the R8 Beauty Facebook page HERE. Therefore when I received the face cream in the first weeks of January I went onto the Karin Herzog website and looked at the description given for this product HERE.

What they say on their website:
A simple and extremely effective natural way to banish spots, cold sores, boils blisters, pigmentation etc. Using Vita-A-Kombi 3 directly on to the area to be treated allows the drawing effect of the oxygen will work like a vacuum to literally VAK the spot off. Acne cream containing 3% oxygen and vitamins A & E.

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My Thoughts:
This cream is not like any other blemish cream that I have. After reading through the leaflet that came with it, I found that you can either apply it to your blemishes and leave it there or wipe it off as the product is immediately absorbed into the skin. This contains hydrogen peroxide which is really good for clearing up acne from the skin and delivers oxygen that is required by the skin. The jar contains 16ml and on the site it retails for £21.50, which is quite pricey for me!

What I usually do is use it at night before I go to bed. I gently pat it onto blemishes on my face and let it to sit there. I have not seen any break outs because of this product which is always a good thing since my skin is so sensitive. The product itself is very thick but easily absorbed by the skin. A little goes a long way and once absorbed it leaves the skin a little dewy but not too much. However, I would not apply makeup on top of it and would not use it during the day if going out as I’m sure it would look too shiny for me.

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My Conclusions:
I have seen some results with this cream, that is my blemishes are still visible, however I must say that after applying this product regularly the amount of breakouts has diminished a lot and blemishes that were there are either slowly getting better or at least not getting any worst. I will keep using this product as I think it will help me to fight against the marks that acne leaves behind on my skin and that take so long to fade away.


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Have you tried any Karin Herzog products? What do you think?

Product Review: Montagne Jeunesse Face Masques

From Left to Right: Passion Peel Off and Fruit Smoothie Face Masques

Back in December, I was doing some late Christmas shopping and I happened to be in Peacocks looking for some items of clothing to wear in the holiday season and I came across these Montagne Jeunesse Masques. I have been looking out for these masques for the longest time as I’ve heard so many great things about them and wanted to try them out. However I had only seen them online and they were a little pricey. So of course as soon as I saw them I grabbed them up and bought them. The were €1.50 each which I know is a little more but still totally worth it. I got the Passion Peel Off and the Fruit Smoothie Masques.

The Montagne Jeunesse Masques are good quality masques for a really decent price. They never test any of their products on animals and they always try to use natural ingredients. You can see more product information and about the brand on the Montagne Jeunesse website.

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The Passion Peel Off as the name implies is a masque that you peel off your face. The masque is made from Pomegranate Pulp and Passion Flower and it has a really nice scent. I had never tried one of these peeling masques and so I was super exited to try this out. The consistency of this masque is really sticky and it has a light pomegranate color. The package contains 10ml of product.

What they say on their website:
Gently peel away dead skin with this amazing deep cleansing masque. Our Pomegranate and Passion Flower formula cleans, purifies and protects leaving your skin feeling fresh and radiant.
Recommended for Normal, Dry and T-Zone Skin.

  • Gluten Free
  • Nut Derivative Free
  • No Added Parabens

I applied a thin layer to the skin and let it sit there for about 15 minutes, at which point it had formed a dry layer over my skin, and then slowly peeled it off my skin which was a weird experience. My skin was left feeling really nice and smooth. This also has ingredients which are anti-oxidants and help protect the skin and deep clean my pores. A big bonus to these masques is their amazing smell, really fruity and sweet.


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The Fruit Smoothie Masque on the other hand is a rich, thick peachy-looking masque that gives a really cooling effect to the skin. This masque is made from crushed Raspberry and Mango. The package contains 20g of product.

What they say on their website:
Bursting with healthy goodness, our thick Crushed Raspberry and Mango smoothie delight will leave you with fresher, cleansed and softer skin. Lavishly apply and treat your skin to a pore cleansing, sensational awakening.
Recommended for Normal, Dry and T-Zone Skin.

  • Gluten Free
  • No Added Parabens

I applied this masque over my face in a thick layer and let it dry. Then I rinsed it off with warm water, and got a nice smooth, fresh feeling skin.


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Have you ever tried the Montagne Jeunesse Masques? What do you think?

Product Rave: Simple Kind to Eyes Eye Make-up Remover


The Simple Eye make-up remover has been a staple for me for over a year now and I think I have gone through about five bottles so far. It is supposedly used to remove eye make-up but usually what I do is to take a cotton pad and get it moist with the product and then I start by removing my eye makeup and then proceed to rub off all the other makeup from the rest of my face. After applying this product I still wash my face, but this is optional and it is only personal preference and because I have oily skin. 

I have very sensitive skin and this product is ideal for me. It removes all the makeup, it has no oil in it, so it does not cause any breakouts and it has no perfume and color. The product has no weird smell to it and it is very gentle on the skin.

It claims to be packed with vitamins and it removes waterproof mascara (which I can confirm). This product is really affordable and it can be found in any of the local supermarkets. The bottle holds 125ml of product. I will definitely repurchase this product and so far this has been my most effective makeup remover.


Have you ever tried any Simple products?

No7 Total Renewal Micro-Dermabrasion Exfoliator Review

These past months I’ve been hearing lots of Beauty Gurus on YouTube rave about micro dermabrasion, so I was getting more and more exited about getting my hands on one of these products.  I happened to come across the No7 Total Renewal Micro-Dermabrasion Exfoliator while shopping for other stuff on eBay and I decided to give it a try.

I didn’t know what exactly to expect from this product and I hoped that it wasn’t just another face scrub with little or few particles that barely even make any difference to my skin.  However, I was not disappointed.  This product contains micro (as the name implies) aluminium oxide crystals that sweep away older surface cells, evening out the skin tone.  It is also useful against blemish-prone skin and leaves the skin feeling soft and radiant.

Aluminum Oxide Crystals takes dull looking skin and promotes new collagen growth, proteins, elastins, and help even skin discolorations which will rejuvenate the skin.  Micro-dermabrasion solves various problems of skin include aging skin, fine lines, wrinkles, acne, brown spots/pigmentation, etc.

I usually apply this in the evening, before going to bed, since this product is quite harsh it can leave your skin a little pink and I don’t want to apply makeup  immediately after applying this product, in case it irritates it.  When you apply it, you can feel that the chemicals in the product are working on your skin as you can feel a tingling sensation.  I use this product only once a week since it is so powerful, but I find that my skin is much smoother and clearer thanks to this product.

The only warnings I would give is to apply this product gently since it is quite abrasive and you don’t want to be too harsh to your skin, but the results are very satisfying!

This product retails for £11.00! Well worthed!

Do you like micro dermabrasion? What products have you tried?

Boots No7 Time-Resisting Day and Night Eye Care Review

For all who have dark circles under their eyes, you know how annoying they can be to cover.  To top it all up lately the skin round my eyes has been getting really dry so I decided to try out something new.  Lately I had been using a cooling eye gel from the Body Shop to reduce the puffiness.  This is also very light and works really well to apply makeup over it.
However this does not do much for my dark circles and even more it is not that moisturizing to my drying skin.  So I decided to try out something new, comes in the Boots No.7 Time Resisting Day and Night Eye Care.
This consists of 2 products, one is a gel and is to be used during the day and the other is a cream which I have found to be really nice and moisturizing.  The products come out from a pump, each product having a pump each, giving you just the right amount for one application.  I have had this products for 2 weeks now and I am really liking it so far.  The skin is getting more moisturized and the dryness seems to be reducing.  So a big thumbs up for this product.  I got mine from ebay since there are no Boots here! Hope this was helpful!

Anyone tried this product?  Do you love the Boots No.7 Brand?