Project Use Up Update #8 and Other Products

As expected this month has been a no use up on the project front so this is going to be a pretty quick blog.  I have, however, managed to use up other products over this month.  

Let's start with the never ending Barbara Day even smoother eye primer in Vanilla. I've been able to scrape more from around the sides but it still doesn't look like there is much change here.  I'm half tempted to scrap what's left into a jar so I can actually see any changes, but that might be at the end of the year.

Next is the NYX Dark Circle Concealer Corrector in Light / Pale.  I'm still working on one side of the product, which has gone down a bit this month to the point where I think I will have reached the packaging by the end of the coming month.

Still slow and steady on the Living Nature eye liner in Midnight front.

I decided to set a goal of wearing MUA lipstick in Raven at least once a week in the last two weeks in August and that's had a real impact on getting through this product.  I'm going to keep this goal for the next few months and should be able to get this lipstick finished by the end of the year.  Despite using the other two lipsticks over August they don't seemed to have gone down at all.  I am going to try and get these finished by the end of year, but it will be a push.

Lastly the Argan Oil hair treatment.  Now that I've got into the habit of using this every time I wash my hair I'm starting to see actual progress on this product (though I couldn't get a photo that actually showed the line here).  I have excepted that this product will take a few years to get through, but at least it's on its way out.

I'm also putting my Urban Decay Naked original palette into this post as it's the palette I've been concentrating on this year.  I have decided to only use this palette for the rest of the year as I am thinking about getting rid of it at the end of 2018 as the formula is beginning to change.  There is pan on two of the shadows and I think I can hit pan on two others as well.

Now for the additional products.  Let's start with the Georganics Coconut Oil Toothpaste in English Peppermint.  I've really enjoyed using this and it worked well on my teeth.  It wasn't a big deal using the spatula every time I brushed but I would like to try some of their products which don't need the spatula.  This product is vegan and cruelty free, and definitely worth a look.  Right now I am using some Lush toothtabs, but I will definitely return to Georganics  once these are gone.

And there's the Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel Sensitive.  This is my third tub of this, I really love it as it is very effective at removing dead skin and making my skin soft.  Sensitive obviously as I have sensitive skin, this is vegan and cruelty free.  I will definitely buy this again, but only after I have finished my other face mask.

My progress so far:

• Project Use Up 2018
• Project Use Up Update #1 and Other Products
• Project Use Up Update #2 and Other Products
• Project Use Up Update #3 and Other Products
• Project Use Up Update #4 
• Project Use Up Update #5 and Other Products
• Project Use Up Update #6 and Other Products
• Project Use Up Update #7 and Other Products

My Nighttime Routine - Beauty

I've been having YouTube on whilst I've been doing housework and decluttering and have just been letting it run on autoselect.  A few videos came up in a row showing what people's nighttime and morning routine is, mainly on the beauty side of things.  I thought, as I'm making my beauty routine more simple and natural, it might be interesting to document what I'm doing at the moment.  So, let's start with my nighttime routine as this is the longest.......

If I've been wearing makeup or feel that my face is particularly dirty I will first give my face an oil cleanse using either Coconut oil or Olive oil and a warm flannel.  This always feels like it's really cleaning out my pores but I would recommend using Coconut oil if you are prone to spots.

After that or if I don't need to do an oil cleanse then I wash my face with my Friendly Soap Aloe Vera bar soap.  I love this soap as it doesn't feel like it dries out my skin (either on my face or body) at all.

The next step for me is the toner which is literally just Witch Hazel in a spray bottle.  I've used this for years and I know it can irritate some people's skin, but it works great for me and I find really helps soaths any allergy irritation and cuts and bruises.  

For my moisturizer I use the oil mixture I make up myself and wrote up about in my blog on my natural facial oils (stored in Holland and Barrett container).  This one has a mixture of Jojoba oil, Avocado oil, Rosehip oil, and Frankincense essential oil.  I put this on quite early on in the night to let it sink into the skin and then I'll add more later on to areas that need it.  If I really feel that I need more moisture then I also add on the Jason Age Renewal Vitamin E 25,00 i.u.

I try to remember to do an extra step designed to help with my dry skin, especially as the dry skin stops me getting moisturizer to the lower layers.  I don't really use physical exfoliators anymore but I do use the Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel Sensitive.  This can sting most of the time, but it is really effective at removing dry skin and my face always feels so soft afterwards.  I usually do this step before the toning and moisturising, usually extra moisturising.  I also have some loose clay which can be made into a mask but which  I have fallen out of using.  This is a great mask though and worked really well on my skin so I definitely want to add this back in.

I will write a blog about my morning routine soon - but that will be a very short blog.

Scrubs and Masks

I am a very dry skinned person and often have difficulty with itching and flakiness as well as eczema in the past.  My main fight against this has been to find products that don't irritate my skin and improve my general health, but while this has been happening I've been needing products to help pull off the dead skin from my face and body (so lovely).  Obviously I wanted products which more on the natural and definitely that had none of those little, plastic microbeads.

Body scrubs.
It took me a while to find a 'natural' scrub I liked the look of to even think about buying.  I wanted something that was simple and natural enough that there would be a possibility for me to replicate the product later on down the line.

So, the scrub I ended up buying was the Naturally Thinking Body Polish Salt Scrub with Uplifting Bergamot and Circulation Reviving Orange.  This product smells gorgeous and the oils really helped moisturised my skin and put some moisture back in, but the salt granules which are meant to be the exfoliant are a little bit too large for me and I didn't really feel that they did a particularly good job at removing the dead skin on my body.  It also made the bottom of my shower very slippery and definitely stung if I had any cuts or scratches.  However, if you like oil based scrubs, definitely look at what Naturally Thinking has to offer as they have other scents and also have a scrubs that uses ground olives instead of salt.  I am intrigued by their body exfoliate lotion though - so maybe in the future.........

I had started to look for another natural scrub and was also reading about possible scrubs I could make at home when I came across an article about using a body brush to not only remove dead skin, but also help circulation and remove toxins from the body.  So I thought I would give it a go and brought one.  It's quite nice to just spend those few minutes before a shower to brush your body, you don't have to be harsh (it shouldn't hurt), and it has been very effective as removing the dead skin.  In fact, it's been so effective and simple I've stopped looking for anything else.  I then just moisturise after the shower - so thank you Japan for another great idea!

Face scrubs.
Face scrubs are always much harder for me than body scrubs as the skin on my face is more sensitive and can't take as much abrasion.  I had been using the Soap and Glory Scrub Your Nose In It for many years and it's been very effective in removing the dry patches on my face as well as cleaning my pores - in fact I would really recommend it.  But, as with the body, I wanted to find something more 'natural'.  

As I was looking for a body scrub at Naturally Thinking I decided to look at their face scrubs and picked up the Orange, Lemon, & Vitamin C exfoliating face polish.  Though I wasn't keen on the body scrub I do really like this face polish.  The granules are nice and small (made from pumice) and really do a good job of removing the dry patches on my face.  The coconut oil was also very moisturising and my skin felt so soft afterwards.  This is another product I would definitely recommend.

In my research on natural exfoliants I had repeatedly read that if you have dry skin on your face it's not good to use physical exfoliants as they can cause small scratches on the skin.  So I started to looking for something similar to a chemical exfoliant and came across a sample of the Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel Sensitive and loved it so much I brought the full pot.  This can sting a little on your skin when you first put it on and does cause me to flush this a little (apparently that's normal), but it goes away and once you've washed it off your skin is so soft.  It is pretty pricey at around £42, but it lasts for such a long time and is so effective I definitely think it's worth the price.  I also like that this product is in a glass jar, which is much easier to recycle.  I usually try and get this done once a week, and it is really helping keep my skin flake free as well as helping to even out my skin tone.  I did think about getting the full strength peel rather than the sensitive, but this is effective enough for me and I'm not sure my skin would be able to take the stronger strength.

The next product isn't really a face scrub (though it does have some scrubbing action when you remove it), but it has been part of the fight against dryness.  It's the Kae natural clay from Morocco.  Kae does a range of difference clay based on what your needs are and I thought this would be the most suitable for my skin.  It comes dry and I usually either mix it with water or with my face oil.  I definitely notice a difference in my skin with this and the best bit is that it seems to be lasting forever.

So, that's my very short journey to finding scrubs that suit me.  None of it is sponsored by if you're interested the websites I've got these from (other than Boots) are www.naturallythinking.com and www.naturisimo.com .