So after a not so short break, I’m back!
But not here.
I’ve started a new blog and I hope you will visit.
If you’d like to take a look please visit me at None of the Above.
I want to also take a moment to thank you all for all your support with this blog. I’ve loved reading and responding to comments as well as interacting on your own blogs. However I feel that a new stage of life deserves a new blogging beginning.
Hope to continue seeing you all around!
Hi everyone.
I know I haven’t been around much lately and in all honesty, that isn’t going to change any time soon. I just wanted to do a quick post saying that I’m going to be taking a break from blogging.
I’ve got a lot going on at the moment (potential new job, massive workload at current job thanks to people leaving and not being replaced, moving house and starting uni again) and I’m exhausted. I don’t have the energy or the time to give to blogging without sacrificing time with my boyfriend, friends and family and at this point in time, they are more important to me.
I will be back though. Maybe in a month or two once I’m settled and back into a routine. I may do random posts here and there but I might not either.
I will float around reading others blog’s because I do enjoy that so please keep posting even though I won’t be!
I’ve been using this method for about a month now and I honestly could not be happier with the results.
Today was the first time since I used ProActive in 2010 that I went to work with no make up on. Well I lie, I had mascara on and a very light powder but barely any. My skin still isn’t perfect and really, there’s not much I can do about that. Once pores are open and once you have scars on your face there really isn’t much you can do that’s not chemically treated which I would like to stay away from as long as possible.
One of the great benefits of this is that I no longer need to use so many products. In the morning for my base I would cleanse, tone, sunscreen, moisturise, prime, put tinted moisturiser then setting powder, or foundation and setting powder. I’ve reduced that to wash my face in hot water, sunscreen, powder. That’s it. At night time I used to cleanse, sometimes exfoliate, tone, night cream, serum (occasionally) and eye cream. Now all I do is use the OCM (click here if you have no idea what I’m talking about) and put on eye cream. Admittedly the OCM can be time consuming and if you are not doing it in the shower or heating the water in a kettle it can waste a lot of water. I do think it’s probably the best results I’ve seen for anything I’ve tried so far though. I love the fact that it’s natural and I love the fact that I don’t have to buy so many products anymore because my new place (when I eventually move in) has very little storage and I won’t have a bathroom to myself anymore.
I strongly recommend trying it if you are looking for a pretty much completely natural routine. The first week my skin went haywire because I wasn’t getting the ratio right and I imagine once I mix up a new batch it’ll go haywire again as I kept adding Castor Oil to the mix without measuring it. So it’ll be a bit of trial and error again but once that had settled, everything felt cleaner and better moisturised.
I’ve also been using a baking soda and honey scrub to exfoliate once a week and have proceeded to throw out pretty much all the scrubs I own – which were alot. Unfortunately I did this in a haste and didn’t get a photo of them for my Project 50 Pan but oh well.
Anyway, my point is that OCM is awesome and you should try it!!
Yea, I know. It’s been awhile since my last post. Truthfully, I’ve been really unmotivated. I’m struggling to keep up with things due to work and trying to make sure everything will run smoothly when I move and enrolling into uni etc that I’ve really just had no time or even the want to write.
Also, with work being really busy I’ve lost my time to write as that’s where I used to do my best work! I know, great use of work time! But I hope once everything settles or at least once I’m back into a routine I’ll be posting more.
I’ve also been struggling with content for here. Whilst I love beauty products, I find it hard to keep up with the trends because frankly, I can’t afford to anymore. No, that’s not true – it’s just my priorities have shifted to homewares and cleaning products and boring things! I also haven’t been able to take many photos as the camera on my phone isn’t working which makes things harder because I know I prefer pictures in my posts.
But enough excuses. I’m going to make an effort to post regularly because I do miss it. And I’m going to start reading blogs again because I haven’t really read much since about November last year.
So.. here’s a a promise to try harder. And do better!
I made an unofficial New Years Resolution to learn new things. So far all I’ve done is learn to make some basic origami. So I enrolled in a sewing class through work.
And wow, pattenmaking the way the teacher is teaching us is really complicated! I’m positive my skirt will not fit me by the end of it but you know what? All I want is to be able to hem my pants properly so if I learn that by the end of Friday then I’ll be happy!
So I’ve thrown a few more products out which is nice however my stash hasn’t really decreased as I received a whole bunch of stuff for Christmas so I feel like I’m back at the start but here are some products I finished/am chucking out.
Invisible Zinc SPF 30 UVA+ UVB: I love this zinc so much. And am very disappointed that it’s finished as I have a Neutrogena sunscreen that I don’t love as much. The zinc is fantastic, it feels great on my skin and I don’t feel as if I’m sweating it off like I do with sunscreen. It sticks and works great as a primer as well. Will definitely be purchasing again.
Nude by Nature Bronzer: This came as part of one of the Nude By Nature packs I bought and honestly, I don’t really use bronzer all that much and I don’t particularly love this one either so although it’s nearly full, it’s being chucked for taking up valuable space!
Rimmel Exaggerate Waterproof Eye Designer Precious Gold: I bought this a while back and although got great use out of it at the start, it’s been sitting in my make up bag for a long long time. It’s time to chuck it really! I did like the product itself but I’m much more likely to use a thin layer of eyeshadow as eyeliner instead of an actual pencil as I prefer the look of it more.
Shanga Russett Eyeshadow: This came as part of a beauty box that I used to subscribe to. It’s a nice colour but one that doesn’t really suit me and I find the powder to be really messy. I find I have to do my eyes first before my base as it just gets everywhere.
Puretopia Glowing Smooth Exfoliating and Renewing Body Polish: I used this simply to use. I also received it in a beauty box and I didn’t love it but felt I should keep it and use it. It doesn’t particularly do anything for me as since I’ve started Body Brushing I haven’t had the need to exfoliate my legs. But I used it all. I didn’t really like the feel of it, or the smell, or the fact that it just made my shower floor a complete mess and very slippery.
Colgate Neutrafluor 5000 Plus: I was given this toothpaste from my dental hygienist as I need more fluoride than that’s provided in normal toothpaste. I quite like it but with this one (and with all toothpastes really) you are not meant to rinse your mouth – just keep spitting until you run out of toothpaste in your mouth. It’s weird but seems to keep your mouth feeling more clean.
Deluxe Body Cream and Triple Milled Soap White Flower: I received these as gifts for Christmas and whilst I do love the feel of the moisturiser, I can not stand the smell. It made me feel so sick and dizzy that I had to wash it off immediately and lie down. If you can’t handle sickly sweet heavily scented products, I’d advise to stay away! But if you don’t mind that, it’s a lovely feeling product. I didn’t try the soap but I thought I’d better throw it in case I get the same feeling.
So now I’ve thrown out 31 out of 50 products!
Whilst I don’t want to seem ungrateful (because I’m not) one of the most frustrating things about buying a new place and receiving gifts is that you don’t get the chance to choose them yourself. I know, I know. Picking things out yourself completely defeats the purpose of receiving gifts but when it’s something like your home, you want to make it personal and you want to pick things that you want. We’ve received some really lovely gifts – beautiful things yet things that I wouldn’t pick for myself. It makes it difficult because of course I’m going to have to display/use everything we’ve been given at least for the first few months. And we just keep receiving things. I’ve asked everyone to stop because it’s getting to the point that we have so much stuff and we haven’t even moved in yet and I’m already having to sort through the stuff that will be living in the back of a cupboard.
Another frustrating thing is that everyone who has given us anything seems to think they now have a say in how the place is decorated, what goes where, what sort of furniture we should choose etc. I just want to be able to purchase the rest of the things we actually need with my partner and that’s all. I know everyone has our best interests at heart but seriously, just let us buy some things on our own without those disapproving frowns on your face because we’d rather buy cheap shit as we know it’s going to get ruined over a $4000 couch!
Having said that, buying a new place right before Christmas is awesome!
My eating has been all over the place recently and I partly blame Christmas/New Years but mostly I blame myself.
With all that’s happened recently my emotions have been up and down, I’ve been stressed, worried and bored and when I’m any of those things I tend to eat. I haven’t been eating intuitively at all!
During Christmas and New Years I was actually really good with my food. I didn’t overly indulge. When I had finished eating dinner on Christmas I felt comfortable and full – not sick. I only had one plate, ate exactly what I felt like and nothing more. I didn’t even eat dessert whereas I would have even if I didn’t feel like it.
I tend to do better when I can plan what I’m eating – if I know what I have in the house then I eat better but if there are bits and pieces lying around, I tend to snack and when I snack, I eat more than I would.
My boyfriend is another concern because he and his family tend to eat crap. I mean it’s not all junk but it’s foods that I can’t eat everyday because it makes me feel heavy and sluggish. They love their BBQ’s and mash potatoes, chicken kiev’s, schnitzels, roast beef/pork/lamb with roasted veggies and no salads. So after two weeks staying with him my eating was all over the place. I did however in the two weeks living at his place learn to cook salmon. So a few nights I had salmon with salad for dinner which was nice and light.
Work has been similar. I haven’t had time to go to the supermarket to buy all my lunch ingredients so I’ve found myself buying burgers. Just last week I had maccas 4 times and felt so ill. Not only that, I was quite low in funds and unfortunately maccas is a cheaper option that anything relatively healthy. Even now I’ve just mindlessly opened a Snickers bar and am eating it and I didn’t even notice.
I lost my ability to realise when I’m hungry and when I’m bored but I’m getting that back now. I’ve cut my portions down again because they built up and am relying more on natural sugars like fruit rather than eating cookies and chocolates for a sugar fix. That’s not to say I’m not eating cookies and cake but I have 1 rather than the 2 or 3 that I would usually have had.
It’s hard as well because my grandma cooks dinner at home and she’s the opposite of me. She eats light during the day and very heavy during the evening whereas I eat heavy during the day and light during the evenings. It makes it hard because I find I’m having big breakfasts, a really light lunch and a heavy dinner which makes me feel sick.
I want to get back on track and although I do love food, I want to be able to enjoy it and know that there will be more later and not have to stuff myself to such an extent.
Apologies for the lateness but I had terrible internet reception on my phone yesterday.
Saturday 5th January: 33 degrees outside and I’m rugged up with a jacket and towel on my legs. It is freezing inside!
Sunday 6th January:My boyfriend and I went back to my place and this is how my puppy greeted us as she was so excited. I hadn’t seen her in a week!
Monday 7th January: Graffiti at the station
Tuesday 8th January: The tree that shedded all over my car but kept it nice and cool
Wednesday 9th January: Rained last night. One 20 degree day between 30+ degree days.
Thursday 10th January: Sparkling wine left for the boy and I when we checked in at the Sofitel Melbourne to celebrate our 10 year anniversary.
Friday 11th January: A welcome message appeared on the TV in our hotel room. I thought this was too cool!
I’ve been reading up alot about OCM and posted a quick outline here!
So my castor oil finally arrived last night and so I used the OCM. I’d been using just extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) for the past 4 nights and didn’t notice a heap of improvement other than my skin was really moisturised and I didn’t need to use any moisturiser after cleansing or in the morning. I did also notice that an under the skin blemish was forming the night I started using EVOO and it’s pretty much gone which generally doesn’t happen this quick.
Last night I tried it with a mix of castor oil and EVOO and I’m not sure if I was just desperate to see a difference but I think I did. I noticed that the gunk in my pores was coming out and was wiping away with my facial towel. My skin felt a little dryer than with just the evoo but that’s to be expected as castor oil is drying but I still didn’t need moisturiser. I used about 30% castor oil to 70% evoo as my skin can be quite oily but it’s important to experiment with the ratios to make sure it suits your own skin.
I’m looking forward to use it continuously and see if it really makes a difference to my skin. I really am desperate to find something that is natural that works!
xxxmissvxxx 