Homemade Green Tea Face Scrub, Toner & Mask!

Hello Ladies! Today I'm going to share with you some of my homemade remedies.

Initially I was looking for a good face scrub to use for face exfoliating but after hours and hours of surfing, I couldn't find an ideal product which has fantastic reviews, a proven record and friendly to my purse. So I decided, why not save some money and DIY a home scrub. I decided that my main ingredient was going to be a Green Tea, which was a powerful anti-oxidant (slows the aging process, rejuvenate skin cells - esp good for after-sun applications!) and also a good purifying ingredient for acne/zits. Lastly, I also incorporated oatmeal in my mask as I have been too stressed recently and pimples started to pop up randomly across my face *sobs*. So here goes, prepare for a long post! I sincerely hope that this may be of help to some of you out there!

So I ended up with a full regime after exploring - a face scrub, a toner and a mask for application. However, you may choose to take the scrub and mask on separate days as some people have thinner skin and too much exfoliation may be bad for the skin.

Let's get started on the recipes! Before I start let me outline the benefits of some ingredients I've chosen. However this is not to say that some other ingredients are no good, its just that I've chosen this for these home products!

Key Ingredients Benefits: 


1) Sugar - naturally exfoliates dead skin and cleanses skin

• alpha-hydroxy (glycolic acid) rich which is crucial for maintaining healthy skin; does not clog pores; helps eliminate blemishes, restores balance to skin's oil.
• After dead skin is exfoliated (but not overly exfoiliated), your body organ works more efficiently to expel toxins and take in nourishment, thus giving a radiant glow. 
• Sugar scrubs are also gentler than salt scrubs, making it suitable for all skin types. 

2) Green Tea 

• reduces sun damage and inflammation (free radicals) i.e. anti-oxidant (esp impt for me in a hot sunny Singapore!)
• slow down effects of aging

3 tips for using green tea as a facial ingredient:

(i) always put boiling water when making your cup of green tea so the full goodness is released from the tea bag/tea leaves;

(ii) always prepare the cup of green tea and use it immediately, don't wait. 

(iii) never use cold green tea, make sure its just warm before application or adding to sugar.

3) Honey (some call it liquid gold!)

• hydrating and softening effects as honey is a humectant which attracts and preserves water, 
• anti-bacterial effects - good for acne
• anti-oxidant (anti-aging) 
• rich in nutrients and vitamins - vitamin B & C, minerals and amino acid

4) Oatmeal 

• an astringent which draws out and absorbs excess oils from the skin 
• draw and hold moisture 
• exfoliates dead skin and clear up blemishes 

You should still see the coarse sugar after mixing
p.s. pardon the kiddy bowl!

Green Tea Honey Face Scrub
Ingredients: 
3 tbsp white sugar, slightly coarse
1 tbsp green tea
2/3 tsp johnson & johnson baby oil or replaceable with almond oil or rose hip oil (optional)
1 tsp organic honey

How to? 
(i) make 1/4 cup of green tea with boiling water. Let it sit for 3 minutes.
(ii) Add 1 tbsp of white sugar to your bowl
(iii) Stir the green tea and add 1 tbsp to the bowl
(iv) Add 2 more tbsp of white sugar
(v) Add 1 tsp of organic honey
(vi) Add 2/3 tsp of the oil you chose

Should you lack the above ingredients, remember that white sugar is always the key ingredient in a scrub. The next key ingredient is green tea.
[If you really lack everything, just have slightly coarse sugar on hand. Add 3 tbsp of warm water and gently scrub i.e. as if you are stroking a newborn!]

What does each selection of oil do?

• J&J Baby Oil: Softens skin, moisturizes but there are people who are against mineral oil which is the key ingredient in this product.  
• Almond Oil: Nourish, smoothen and soften skin  - relieves itchiness, soreness and rashes
• Rose Hip Oil: rich in vitamin C, rehydrates skin, reduces wrinkles and repair damange skin cells (i.e. scars recovery!) 

You may choose to leave out oil if your skin is not suitable for such an ingredient. 
Some may ask why I do not recommend Olive Oil as a replacement. I believe that the anti-oxidant used in the application may end up being too strong if added as both green tea and honey has anti-oxidant effects already. 
It is also not recommended that you use more than 1 oil in this scrub. 

Application Steps:
(a) just gently scrub (as if stroking a newborn) with a good cotton pad which picks up all the ingredients (rem to stir before each pick up). Rough scrubs would harm your face, especially if the sugar is far too coarse.
(b) Then use your fingers to give your face a 2nd round of gentle scrub.
(c) Repeat both steps (a) and (b) again before gently rinsing off the scrub. Viola, you're done!

Green Tea Toner / Acne Soother

It is as simple as getting warm green tea onto your cotton pad and gently pad the awesome natural and affordable toner into your face! Enjoy this simple goodness!

[You may choose to put your remaining green tea in the fridge. When sufficiently cold, use a cotton bud to pick up some tea and dab onto affected acne/zit. Allow the green tea to dry naturally on skin - it will help soothe and heal skin]

Green Tea Honey Oat Wash-off Mask
(Do not use this receipe if you are allergic to oats!!)

this is not a paste, continue stirring!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp organic rolled oats (use baby oats/ porridge oats if possible)
2 tbsp (+ 1 tsp) warm green tea
1/2 tsp organic honey

How to?
(i) Make 1/3 cup of green tea with boiling water. Let it cool for 3 mins.
(ii) Pour 1 tbsp of oats into bowl
(iii) Add 1 tbsp of warm green tea, stir
(iv) repeat steps (ii) and (iii)
(v) Add 1 tsp honey
(vi) stir until a thick paste is formed (add 1 tsp of green tea if paste is too thick)

Application Steps: 
(a) Ensure you begin with clean hands and a cleansed face (oh and make sure to keep your hair back)
(b) Apply all over your face with a clean foundation brush, cover acne/pimples with more paste
(c) leave the mask to work for 20-30 minutes or until the mask is dried
(d) Rinse off gently with warm water, rub gently in circles all over the face.
(e) pat dry your face
(f) tone and moisturize, your face should be glowing!


I hope you've enjoyed reading these recipes and do let me know if it works for you! I'll post my other homemade recipes which I've experimented using ingredients such as milk, yoghurt and oats!

Unfortunately i'm still looking for dark eye circle remedies. I've tried all sorts of commercial brands out there - ranging from la prairie to garnier roll-on eye pens but none have quite worked miraculously though la praire's did aid. Its just getting from bad to worse... can't do without concealers anymore. HELP! I'll let you know if I do find a breakthrough. Meanwhile I've stopped most eye products (as they are either too rich, causing milia seeds and others giving crows feet *sobs*) and just purely applying a simple vitamin C serum with eye massages. Do let me know if you have a miraculous remedy!

*for the love of natural skincare*

Anna Sui Super Black Volume Up Mascara

In my search for a water-resistant, non-smudge mascara, I came across a very compelling review of this Anna Sui mascara which a blog reviewer said she swore by for the last 2 years. The review stated that the effect was so spectacular that the curled lashes would hold up for the day and your lashes became dolly and pronounced. Well, I must say the review did state the effects accurately. What it did not state was the hassle of using this mascara - make sure you read point 5!

1) Packaging - ♥♥♥♥♥/♥♥♥♥♥
Lets start from the aesthetics. The mascara packaging is typical of Anna Sui, with the top of the mascara featuring the rose emblem which one associates with the brand. I must say the packaging is awesome and the curves of the mascara makes it easy to hold the brush when applying.

The pretty packaging!

2) Smell - ♥♥♥/♥♥♥♥♥
One wouldn't normally associate smell and mascara together. Afterall I've never really put my nose to smell any mascara! This mascara has a distinct rose fragrance every time you take out the applicator. I attribute that to one of the ingredients - "fragrance (parfum)". While this may be pleasant to some, I believe it does not bode well with people allergic to such products, especially near their eyes! So while I'm not allergic, I am slightly uncomfortable to get perfume so near my eyes! The smell does get to me sometimes too...

3) Smudge-proof/water-proof - ♥♥♥♥/♥♥♥♥♥
I've not tested this underwater as I typically do not wear make-up when I go swimming or go under the water. However I've got really teary and watery eyes and I require very strong smudge-proof mascara. At this point, I've to emphasize that this mascara has no disclaimer of either smudge or water-proof capabilities! Without the claimants declared, I do think this mascara has got rather good water/smudge proof abilities! I don't really end my days looking like a panda as compared to using some other brands!

4) Holding up the lash curls -  ♥♥♥♥/♥♥♥♥♥
Yes don't we all sigh when we curl our lashes and only to fit them flat and lifeless after 1 hour? We often question if our curlers are at fault or was it the mascara? I believe that most of the time, its the mascara. This mascara works wonders for holding up curls, well in a very pronounced style in fact! I do have curled lashes, which are emphasized in bold black by this mascara, even after work! (that's more than 12 hours already!) This is amazing. However I'm not a fan of drama make-up. I prefer subtle make-up and natural looking stuff. Hence, I wouldn't normally go for this mascara unless I'm attending a dressy function. However if you use fake lashes, this might go on well with them!

5) Applicator/ Application/ Mascara formula -  ♥/♥♥♥♥♥
Ah... yes this is my most hated part of this mascara. Personally, I feel that it overwrites all of the above goodness. The applicator is horrible. The brush bristles are not only extremely short but they are also quite dense. This does not work for a mascara formula which is thick and sticky! An absolute no-no. My formula clumps up all the time, causing my brush to be fully covered with the formula and what do I get? Clumped lashes!! Initially I wondered if it was a one-off problem i.e. only my mascara, but having complained to one of my girlies who also bought this mascara, her's the same too! This is the most disappointing bit of this mascara. Since I didn't want to dump the whole mascara away, I would clean the bristles with wet wipes before each eye application to remove the excessive formula which was stuck to the bristles. Yes, imagine the wastage! It was the only way to use this mascara to get the effects I wanted - the curled long and dolly like lashes. This is a horrible applicator which doesn't match the formula at all.

After some cleaning, the short bristles is revealed!

The uncleaned applicator clumped with the formula. Look at the tip,  of the applicator onwards, a lump of formula is stuck there, as usual. 

I should also mention here that it takes a good 5-10mins before the mascara is fully dried and so never look down even after application. You'll have pretty lash marks on your undereye area... I am quite impatient and this doesn't bode well with me either.

My Summarized Review:
So here you have it. I'm not recommending this product unless you have the patience to clean bristles before each eye's application each time you're using. Even if you do have the patience, I wouldn't recommend this terrible applicator unless you have got other applicators which you like and can stick them into this formula. There are plenty of other mascaras out there, don't torture yourself with this one. By far, this is the worst mascara I've ever tried.

I give this 1 out of 5 smooches due to the terrible applicator and formula mismatch
Score: ♥/♥♥♥♥♥

Nail Art: Curved French Manicure

Hello! I just wanted to share two of my nail art designs over the past few weeks! I've been quite taken by the curve french styled nails as they conjure in me a feminine yet playful feel! The polka dots only add on to emphasize this fun design! I got inspired by a Japanese nailart mag which I browsed at Kinokuniya.


Do pardon the purple nail design one as the picture was taken 5 days after I completed the design. However I personally liked the purple design alot better than the blue/glitter curved french one!

I typically use TheFaceShop's base coat and Seche Fastdry topcoat!

Hope you like these ideas!

Design uses OPI Bubble Bath as bath color, Essie's Lilacism for light purple curved french, Sephora by OPI's What a Broad for the top layer of curved french, and Essie's Blanc for the polka dots. You'll also need a dotting tool for the dots. 

Design uses OPI's Happy Anniversary as base color, OPI's play till midnight as curved french, Essie's Blanc for polka dots and OPI's Crown Me Already! for glitter lines. You'll also need a dotting tool for the dots.

Burberry Fresh Glow

Introducing my recent favourite - Burberry Fresh Glow! 

I love it that the first ingredient is water!
Ingredients

So what's this Fresh Glow i'm raving about?
As described previously, this is a primer base which is typically used before foundation. This primer brightens up the face and leaves my make-up on for almost the whole day! It is meant to give a natural looking glow to our faces!

It leaves the skin supple with a pink healthy glow, please note that it is not colourless. Still, it is very light weight and you barely feel the formula. To some, it might be important to note that it is odourless!
I also love the fact that there's rose water extract and vitamin included in the formula which are two key ingredients necessary for the skin!

Since Fresh Glow is so sheer, it can be also used as a highlighter and eye primer (i.e. after foundation). I've dabbed some over my lids after my eyeshadows, where Fresh Glow delightfully perked the lids even more and it didn't even have to touch up any of my eyecolors or eyeliner (non-waterproof/smudge proof pencil - I typically have to use a gel liner) for the rest of the day!

On lazy weekends, Fresh Glow can be worn without any foundation or make-up. Of course, this does not give you your flawless face since concealer, foundation and other support are missing - i.e. there's no coverage. It just helps to perk up the dull complexion a little!

A small amount of Fresh Glow is sufficient for my face!

See the two swatches, the right one is halfway massaged in without much effort! Notice the Sheer Glow yet?

I've fully blended the Fresh Glow in on the LHS. See the dewy glow!

Mixing my foundation & Fresh Glow

TIP: A tip here to share which I picked up from the Burberry beauty teacher, Celestine. Its ok to blend Burberry Fresh Glow with your liquid foundation to apply together like a moisturizer! (See Above for blend and results below)

I'm not sure how clear this picture is but LHS shows just my foundation which is slightly duller while the RHS is the blend of foundation + Fresh Glow! Its looks more supple with some reflective glow! 

I'm falling in love with Burberry Make-up! I've a keen bias towards natural/nude shades make-up... so Burberry Beauty has won me over by emphasizing on both natural and sheer make-up!

In comparison to my almost 5-year companion primer -- Shu Uemura Mousse Base (Pink/Beige) - I must say that although Burberry Fresh Glow comes in a gel formula, the latter is still lighter than the mousse after application. The Mousse base does smoothen out the skin but does not keep my make-up as long as the Fresh Glow and sometimes appear to dry my skin out. Additionally, the Mousse Base does not provide the healthy glow which Fresh Glow does. Still, the Shu Uemura mousse formula is amazingly light for a base with spf included. Pls note at this point that the Fresh Glow is free of any Sunblock ingredients i.e. no SPF protection. Hence, on my lazy weekends, if its just going to be Fresh Glow, I'll use my moisturizer, Shu Uemura Mousse Base then Fresh Glow. This is because I don't use any other face sunblock products.

No doubt Burberry Fresh Glow is pretty pricey at S$70, go have some fun and try it out at the counters! If there's just one product you got to get from Burberry - go for Fresh Glow. Oh but as with all products in a bottle, pls SHAKE before you use the formula! Most people forget to do that with Fresh Glow!

Retail Price in Singapore - S$70 incl. GST

I give this 4 out of 5 smooches! Score: ♥♥♥♥/♥♥♥♥♥
[The missing smooch is due to i) the expensive price tag and ii) my short usage period thus far - only 1 week! I want to leave some room to evaluate this product more! - Feb 2012]


Upcoming reviews: Moogoo Super Vitamin C Eye Serum; Drug Store Make-up Removers; Moo Goo Oil Cleansing Method; Biotherm Skin.Ergetic, Anna Sui Super-Black Volume Up Mascara


Pls note that I was not provided any sample or paid by Burberry Beauty to write this product review. Products shown here are paid for by myself. 

Burberry Beauty School

Sorry for the 2 week break ladies! Work was insane! That explains the need for really good and effective skincare! Quoting the words of my burberry beauty instructor - Celestine - "if you don't see your skin care working for you, its not doing its job. Time to change!"

Yup I'm here today to talk about my 2 hours make-up course with Burberry beauty! I must say that it was an insightful, hands-on and awesome 2 hours!

We went through the whole process of applying a beautiful face makeup including choosing the right foundation and eye colors!

Right foundation: try it on from your cheekbone downwards, closer to your neck line. The correct foundation shade is one where you feel most comfortable and should blend into your neck color.

Then again, no such beauty school is without some marketing, where I was properly introduced to burberry makeup for the first time! Their key emphasis was creating a flawless face with sheer makeup. Sheer in their sense means light-weighted yet sufficient coverage. Sheer would also allow you to touch up easily and also put on a couple of layers without worrying that its going to look too cakey!

Anyway back to some tips that I picked up during the class
♥ prime your face and eye area before putting on make-up
♥ concealer can be used to highlight nose bridge/ T-zone

Burberry Fresh Glow

♥ when using brush to pick up powder, do not use the tip, use one side to pick up powder and the other side to blend in circular motion
♥ can mix 2 or more color blush to pick up more color depth
♥ emphasize eyes by defining crease


And I'm so impressed by 2 of their items, i'm highly recommending them:
1) Burberry Fresh Glow - a luminous primer base for your face/eye lips - a good perk-me-up! There's also wild rose extract in it which is generally good for scars and the skin! It provides your face a dewy light shimmer finish to ensure you glow for the day!

The awesome mascara!

2) Burberry Mascara - wow they lengthened my eyelashes and kept them full! a super wow! They also don't smudge and clump even though it wasn't outrightly stated that this is a smudge-proof nor waterproof mascara; just a simple weather-proof mascara. The brush is also jagged between long-short which gives the lashes a good brush, love this loads! Comes in 4 colors!

They also introduced their spring/summer collection.. the additions are...

Eye color: pale barley is the newest eye color. It wasn't particularly suited for light skined Asian skin but if you'd like a brownish shimmer color, then do check it out! I personally find tea rose and pale rose more suited for me! Still, its a personal preference!

Burberry Pale Barley (No 22) EyeShadow

4 new lip colors: Tulip pink (no 2), devon sunset (no 28), golden peach (no 29) and primrose hill pink (no 30)



primrose hill pink is an awesome statement color! But if you're bias towards nude and pale tones, try tulip pink layered with the nude rose lip gloss (no 14).

Tulip Pink (No 2)

2 new lip gloss colors: hibicus (bo 13) and nude rose (no 14). I personally like nude rose (yes boring plain jane I know) along side their older colors such as Blush (no 04).

Awesome Awesome colors! Pls refer to the beauty lookbook for swatches!

Primrose Hill Pink (No 30)

Currently, there's only 1 burberry counter in Singapore since August 2011 at Tangs Orchard. However, it has been around since 2010. A pretty new brand but good quality products I must say!

Kate Spade Home Decor launched!

Kate Spade has opened up a home decor shop! Decor and Design is one of my favourite reads too!

Somehow apart from the florence broadhurst decor designs, the rest didn't seem quite 'kate spade'. Still, I like simple elegant designs and these are some of the designs that caught my eye:

Still it irks me that they are so un-Kate-Spade-ish :(

Masks or Masques?

I've been trying out this new range of masks from SkinLite (www.skinlite.com), yet another beauty brand from Korea alongside FaceShop, Skinfood, Etude house etc.

So this range of masks is apparently 100% natural pulp , which prevent skin trouble and provides a closer adhesion to the face. So I tried a couple of masks from this range and felt that yes, it indeed does adhere better to the face. In addition, the moisture in mask does not evaporate as fast! It managed to moisture my face for a good 30 minutes before I unwillingly removed the mask and massaged the moisture into the face.

I like the Vital Nourishing Red Ginseng Mask which has both collagen and witch hazel extract. Witch Hazel is good for wounds and dried blemishes. Still one should avoid using masks on blemishes, acne, pimples and sunburned skin!

Enjoy this new alternative brand!

I can't resist sharing these 2 pretty gowns! Just look at the back of this pretty gown!

obtained from http://www.lovelybride.com/blog/

and this pretty floral gown...!