Beauty Grail

I often love being pampered and getting special treatments such as facials so when at the Dermal Therapies information session (You may have heard that I’m in the process of applying for my new found passion of Dermal Therapies) we were adviced to go get salon treatments, It was a case of, “say no more”.

Modern Skin Care Centre, Woden ACT

One of the salons that I had recently visited the past two days was the Modern Skin Care Centre, a small boutique beauty salon tucked behind Woden’s Westfield Plaza.

picture: Adore Beauty

There are two products I absolutely can’t do without. 1 is a lip balm. Yes, having full lips do have it’s cons in that it’s susceptible to wind/sun burn!! I may never have to get lip injections but dry lips is a constant battle for me.

The 2nd is sunscreen. I think we all very well know by now the importance of slathering SPF!!

As a day sun protection, I used to use Clinique’s Super City Block SPF 30+, a gift from my sister in law. On its packaging, City block claims that it has a “remarkable sheer and weightless formula”, it is great for sensitve skin, contains antioxidants, is oil free, safe to use near the eye area and can be worn as a makeup primer. Sounds fantastic, no? I did find it agreed with my rather sensitive skin. However, it did make my skin go rather shiny by midday. It also had a whitish tinge when applied to my skin and I found it difficult to blend with makeup.

I made a special trip to my local David Jones, determined to find a better than good SPF. That’s where I came across Megan Gale Tinted Day wear Sunscreen. This is not the first time I’ve come across the product. My best friend, Orchid, already uses the product and the book I’m currently reading, “The Skin Type Solution” by Dr Leslie Baumann, actually recommends this product for my skin type (which turns out to be Sensitive, Oily, Pigmented and Tight - more on this later).

I paid about $30 AU and put it to use right away. It’s been about a week since using this product and I found some ++ over Clinique City Block.

• I found it to be be more sheer to apply
• No more whitish tinge
• It felt less tacky on my skin
• It’s moisturising wich is great for the fine lines around my eye area
• The tint provides enough hint of colour for me to forgo foundation (for days where ‘minimal’ is my choice of look. Perfect for giving my skin a break from heavy makeup)
• On the days that I do want a more ‘made-up’ look, I can mix a little (or as much) of my foundation with it without having to worry about blending

I give it a BeautyGrail rating of:

image credit: shielaz413 It’s my birthday in 5 days and I’ve organized a “Sex and The City” style celebration with my girlfriends. Problem is I haven’t exactly been a very good girl, going without exercise and good food for the past 2 months! Not only did I feel it (the consequence of an unhealthy lifestyle), I certainly saw it as well, especially in my face!

The skin doesn’t lie and mine told the story of a chocolate and ice cream eating marathon! With my “Girls’ Night” fast approaching, I decided to buy some decent foundation to try to mask the junk food-induced fine lines. Even the makeup consultant couldn’t help but describe the skin around my eyes as ”crepey”.

Crepey?! This wasn’t exactly how I wanted to look on my b-day!! I needed to get serious and tackle the problem PROPERLY - via anti aging packed nutrition.

It’s a dreary day, perfect for keeping dry indoors and reading up on blogs. I’m currently checking out the blog directory, BlogCatalog, and one post that caught my attention was Four Stupidest Things Americans Do To Their Skin at Anti-Aging Psychology Blog .

After being side-tracked into having a self debate about the title (“Most Stupid” versus “Stupidest”), I managed to read on and find out what the 4 stupid things were.

According to the author, Dr. Michael Brickey, some common mistakes Americans make (where it comes to skin care) were:

#1 Using Soap

image credit: Jon Evans I once declined a friend’s offer of her soap come time to shower after an exhausting workout. I decided I’d rather risk smelling bad from just a warm shower rather than lathering up with soap. Why? It’s because (some) soaps are alkaline and strip the skin of natural oils thus an be drying.

#2 Mineral Oils

There seems to be a debate on just how bad mineral oil is. Dr. Michael Brickey is obviously part of the camp that is totally against it. The downside he mentioned were:

” Mineral oil coats your skin, clogs your pores, and prevents your skin from breathing. It keeps your skin from exfoliating dead skin cells and toxins. It keeps your skin from absorbing vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants in a moisturizer.”

(source: Anti-Aging Psychology)

Beauty Brains sits on the end of the pole on this debate citing that the bad rap on mineral oils is totally bogus.

One that sits in the middle is FutureDerm . She says it is okay so long as it is not used in conjunction with other products containing comedogenic (pore-clogging) ingredients and that it’s benefits are not blown beyond ‘hydrating’.

I find myself sitting somewhere in the middle too. My fav lipbalm to date happens to be Vaseline Lip Therapy and most of my body and hand lotions contain Mineral Oil. I prefer my face products however to be Mineral Oil free as it is tends to be very sensitive and fussy.

#3 Fragrances and Dyes

What good is a cream that smells like a dream if it causes irritation to the skin? That unfortunately is the side effect for some people to fragrances as well as dyes. It is therefore advised that to keep your skin happy, best to try to steer clear of these.

#4 Sun Damage

image credit: Alan Light

The effects of over exposure to the sun can be very detrimental. We’re not just talking about a bit of reddening or peeling of skin. There’s premature aging and more importantly, increased chances of skin cancer and other skin disorders. These just make baking out on the sun totally unglamorous and uncool.

image credit: Dove

I had no plans announcing my turning 30. It just happened. Literally out of the blue, friends and family started saying, “You’ve got wrinkles!”

Even my uncle, a man who normally missed such things couldn’t help but say, “Oh, you have lines”. Yes, hello “new 20’s”.

#1 Chronoligical or Genetic Skin Aging

Up until that stage, the only aging I was aware of was the type that was related to birthdays. That is Chronological Aging or Genetic/Biological Aging .

In my teens, I lost my baby fat. The only upset I had were angry pimples and overly excited sebaceous glands;

In my twenties, more baby fat went along with some pimples. My hair thinned and sprouted premature gray hairs;

Come 30…well you already know, the development of wrinkles or what I liked to call ”happy lines” (as they became more pronounced whenever I smiled). Unfortunately, I also still had very persistent adult acne! (Grrr)

image credit: peterdconroy

#2 Environmental Skin Aging

On my first trip to Vietnam, I couldn’t help but notice most of the women fully clad complete with masks and gloves in sweltering heat! It was disbelief as I was wanting to jump out of my shorts and singlet for a little relief.

However, perhaps the last laugh was on people like me who freely basked in the elements as this is attributed to the 2nd type of aging, ”Environmental Aging”

Factors such as over exposure to the sun, extreme climate, pollution, harsh chemicals, dust and cigarette smoke (whether first or second hand) can throw havoc to your skin and cause premature aging.

So no more sunbathing (more precisely, sun-baking) or going without SPF for me and I always make it a point to wear gloves each time I do the dishes. These are just some of the simple and common sense habits I’ve taken up.

#3 Hormonal Skin Aging

I came across this concept when reading an interview with Celebrity Dermatologist, Dr. Kaplan.

The skin’s youthfulness can be attributed to 3 basic materials. These are Collagen, Elastic Tissue and Hyaluronic Acid.

1. Collagen, which acts like rope to give our skin strength and prevent sagging.
2. Elastic Tissue acts like rubber bands, and gives our skin elasticity and “bounce back.”
3. Hyaluronic Acid keeps our skin plump and hydrated.

(source: Care Fair)

Dr. Kaplan explains that hormones maintain and regulate the production of these, thus fluctuations, imbalance or decline in hormone levels can lead to undesired consequences such as increased skin sensitivity and dryness; acceleration of fine lines and wrinkles; uneven skin pigmentation and occasional itchiness or breakouts.

Mention hormone imbalance/decrease and people often think menopause. However there are other factors that can play in hormonal decrease or fluctuation. Some examples are stress, bad diet and lack of exercise!

That said, I’ve decided to take a break, tuck into some berries and then take my puppies for a brisk walk up Red Hill. Catch you all later!

image credit: NewYorkTimes

For men, it’s 33.5 inches. For women it’s 35.4 inches. That’s the national waistline limit imposed by the Japanese government on about 44% of its citizens who are between the ages of 40 and 74, as reported by The NewYork Times. These are thesame measurements set by the Diabetes foundation back in 2005. This law is one of the governments way of trying to curb increasing healthcare costs.

picture: Wikimedia Commons

I received a free copy today of Runner’s World’s July issue for participating in this year’s Canberra Marathon (just one of the post race perks). I’ve been thinking about subscribing to it for awhile now so this gave me a chance to get a first hand look at the info I can expect each month.

One interesting tidbit that caught my attention was about tomato juice and how it can help protect against harmful UV radiation. The article highlighted a study conducted by the University of Manchester and New England showing that people who consumed tomato juice were 33% more protected against the suns rays.

So to those, like me, who love the benefits of running outdoors but are concerned about the negative effects of too much sun, bottoms up to tomato juice!