Trialling SPF's

Wearing an SPF product daily is one of the best things you can do for your skin. Exposure to UV rays causes the breakdown of collagen and signs of aging such as wrinkles and sun spots follow suit. However, SPF products are also one of the hardest skincare products to shop for, as many of them have thick, oily textures, unpleasant scents, or leave the infamous white cast on your face. Gross, I know, but with lots of trial and error I have managed to find some SPF products that work for me.

The SPF that I've been reaching for everyday is the L'occitane Immortelle Brightening Shield SPF 40. This is probably the best SPF product I've ever used. It has an incredibly light, liquid texture, so I pump it into the palm of my hand before dotting all over my face. On the skin, it feels no more heavy than a light moisturizer. It's important to use enough product when using SPF or you will not be getting the full SPF 40 protection, so I use about 8 pumps every morning to cover my entire face and neck. It is rather pricey at $60 for 30mL, but SPF is absolutely not something you can use sparingly or that can be "less is more", so I would suggest looking into other options if you are turned off by the price.

This is a physical sunscreen formulated with titanium dioxide, so you are getting broad spectrum protection (which means it will block out both UVA and UVB rays). However, as with all physical sunscreens, it does leave a slight white cast over my face when first applied, but that goes away in a few minutes. Just be sure to wait for it to absorb before applying makeup on top. The scent is similar to the rest of the Immortelle line, a sort of fresh floral scent that isn't too strong. This sunscreen also includes a number of plants oils and extracts to help brighten the skin, including daisy extract. While this could be beneficial, those with sensitive skin may want to do a patch test first, as plant ingredients can often be irritating to the skin. Overall, I think this is a great SPF option, and is the most un-sunscreen-like SPF out of the products I am talking about today.

While we're on the subject of SPF's, I figure I would talk about some other SPF products I've tried. The Amore Pacific Natural Protector SPF 30/PA+++ is a blend of physical and chemical sunscreens. It seems to be only available in the US, but can be found quite easily online through Sephora. While it claims to be oil-free, I still think it feels rather heavy. It is also extremely heavily fragranced, so those with sensitive skin may want to steer clear. The product comes out with a slight pink tint, which helps slightly to even out skin tone but doesn't have any major effects, though it definitely helps cancel out the white cast. Not really a product I would recommend.

The Avene High Protection Mineral Cream SPF 50 was my daily SPF before I discovered the L'occitane offering. This is a physical sunscreen containing both titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, and provides broad spectrum protection. As with all Avene products, this sunscreen does not contain any fragrance and is a great option for sensitive skin. The product is tinted, so it does not have any white cast and actually really helps to even out the skin. I'm able to skip foundation and use only concealer for my base makeup when wearing this sunscreen. While it blends into my fair skin very well, those with darker skin may want to test it out first. The only complaint I have with this sunscreen is that it is a little bit heavy and oily. While it doesn't cause me to break out at all, I find that my t-zone can get quite oily throughout the day.

The Ole Henriksen Protect the Truth SPF 50+ was a product I really wanted to love, but just didn't work out. This product contains marine algae, fruit cell extracts, and vitamins A, C, and E, to firm and brighten the skin while protecting it, which sounded like an absolutely fantastic idea to me. It is a chemical sunscreen, so no white cast here, and has a pleasant citrus scent. The weird thing about this sunscreen is that it absolutely has to be applied underneath moisturizer. I did not read the directions at first and applied it like a normal sunscreen, and wow, was that a disaster. The sunscreen started to ball up in little white shreds as I tried to massage it into my face, and let me just tell you, that is not a good look. When applied under moisturizer as directed, it's incredibly light and almost undetectable. While it does not ball up as badly, over the course of the day, I still find little white flakes on my face whenever I touched it, so unfortunately, this is a love that could never be. Those who don't wear serums in the morning might have much better luck with this though.

The Shiseido Urban Environment Tinted UV Protector Broad Spectrum SPF 43 is one of my favourite SPF products, but it is definitely more of a makeup product than it is skincare. It's oil free and actually works very well as a tinted moisturizer. However, my concern with using makeup products as my source of SPF is that I cannot apply as much product without it starting to look heavy. That being said, I do still reach for this product when I'm having a lazy day and can't really be bothered to do my makeup.

What are your SPF favourites?

February Empties

It would seem that February being a short month did not stop me from accumulating a stash of skincare empties. Up this month is four beautiful products that I'm quite excited to talk about, so let's get right to it.

The Avene Thermal Spring Water is a product that comes up regularly on this blog and that I have repurchased many times. Yes, it does seem like you're just buying water in a spray can, and I was very skeptical at first as well, but let me just tell you that the Avene really does work for reducing redness and calming sensitive skin.  I like to spray a bit of this on before I cleanse my face to prep and soften my skin, after I cleanse my face to neutralize the effects of unwanted impurities in tap water, and under face masks for an extra boost of redness relief.

The Fresh Soy Face Cleanser comes with a funny anecdote. I had gone into Sephora looking to try out the Philosophy Purity Cleanser, but was cornered by a very sassy male associate trying to sell me the Fresh cleanser whose marketing technique was just sticking his face about an inch from mine and saying "Touch my face. Just touch my face and you will change your mind." Well I did touch his face, and it was indeed very soft and smooth, so I bought the cleanser. This cleanser turned out to be possibly my favourite cleanser of all time and I have repurchased it on several occasions. It's a gel cleanser that is packed with great skin ingredients like soy extract, amino acids, rose water and cucumber extract. After cleansing with this, my skin always feels very smooth and balanced. It doesn't dry out the skin at all, so I reckon it would be great for all skin types. Highly, highly recommend.

I was absolutely obsessed with the Sibu Daytime Facial Cream over the summer but haven't actually used it as much recently, just because I do like to experiment with new products. It's a really simple, no-fuss moisturizer that absorbs effortlessly and doesn't leave the skin feeling greasy at all. It claims to be 100% natural and seems to pack some really great ingredients, so this would be great for those who prefer to go more natural on their skin. A really great choice for those days when you're just not sure what to do with your skin.

I'm sure we all read Caroline Hirons's blog so the Indeed Labs Hydraluron Serum should be a pretty familiar face. While I do read Caroline Hirons's blog regularly, my skin doesn't seem to tolerate her skin philosophy very well, so a lot of her recommendations are really hit-and-miss for me. For those who don't know, Hydraluron is a hydrating serum that contains hyaluronic acid, which helps draw moisture to the skin. The product is a clear gel that works best when applied over slightly wet skin. While I obviously enjoyed the product enough to finish the tube, I wasn't exactly wow'ed by it, and would prefer my Caudalie SOS Thirst Quenching Serum any day.

The Sunday Mask

My Sunday nights are always reserved for the deep-cleansing mask, because my skin always looks great the morning after using these masks and I like to start the week with my best face (and make Mondays a little bit less terrible). When I say "deep-cleansing mask" or "detox mask", I'm referring to the clay/mud/charcoal mask. These masks are designed to draw impurities out of your pores and get rid of clogged pores, which often result in spots, black heads, white heads, and larger looking pores. Although it may be tempting to use these masks every other day to keep skin super clean, a deep-cleansing mask should really only be used once or twice a week, because they can draw moisture out of the skin and dry it out. 

My current deep-cleansing masks of choice are the Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque and the Avene Cleanance Mask, so I'll be talking about both of them today. The Kiehl's mask is made up of kaolin and bentonite clay, and is just your most basic clay mask. It claims to purify skin and minimize pores, which most clay masks do. The texture of this mask is very smooth and almost feels creamy, which is a bit odd for a clay mask, but it feels wonderful to apply. This mask also contains aloe vera juice and oat flour, both fantastic ingredients for soothing and calming the skin, and really helps in reducing the inflammation in those really big, red spots. 

The Avene mask is both a clay mask and an exfoliating mask. It contains kaolin clay, but also contains glycolic acid and salicylic acid, which are chemical exfoliants. Chemical exfoliants are a great way to exfoliate because they can get rid of that top layer of dead skin without the irritation of physical exfoliating scrubs. This mask gets rid of the dead skin and then draws out impurities with clay, making it extra effective. Avene is a brand targeted towards those with sensitive skin, so even though this mask sounds super heavy duty, it's not harsh at all.

Both of these masks are applied the same way. After cleansing, press a hot towel on your face to open up the pores, or skip this step if you shower at night. Spread an even layer on the face, avoiding the eye area. After leaving it on for a few minutes, the mask will start to dry. We all know that feeling, you can't move your face anymore and the mask starts to crack in places. It's a very satisfying thing to look at and can be a very amusing feeling, but you really should never let your clay mask dry until it cracks. At that point, all the moisture in the mask will have evaporated into the air, and the mask will start drawing moisture out of your skin, which is never a good thing. The stiffness of the mask will also be pulling at your skin as you move your face, which can result in fine lines. I like to spray some Avene Thermal Spring Water on my face when I feel the mask starting to dry, to keep it from getting super stiff. After ten minutes, just wash the mask off with a towel and water, and continue with your regular skincare routine.

I've included the ingredients list for both masks as a point of reference. 

Kiehl's: Aqua/Water/Eau, Kaolin, Bentonite, Propanediol, Glycerin, CI 77891 / Titanium Dioxide, Caprylic / Capric Triglyceride, Cetearyl Alcohol, Zea Mays Starch / Corn Starch, Phenoxyethanol, Ceteareth-20, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tocopherol, Lecithin, Aloe Barbadensis / Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Avene Sativa Flour / Oat Kernel Flour, Allantoin

Avene: Avene Thermal Spring Water, Triethylhexanoin, Kaolin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Glycolic Acid, Water, Cyclomethicone, Sodium Hydroxide, Polyethylene, Ceteareth-33, Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Gluconate, Bisabolol, Cetrimonium Bromide, Cucurbita Pepo Seed Oil (Pumpkin), Fragrance, Pyridoxine HCl, Salicylic Acid, Xanthan Gum


Read:
The Face Mask Schedule: here
The Hydrating Mask: here
 The Treatment Mask: here