MI Bye!

So I hear about a chemical methylisothiazolinone (MI) - I am no skin expert or scientist just a regular 9-5 working woman. Often complaining about skin issues! Changing things such as diet, drink, exercise levels. It certainly is worrying to think about what chemicals we are exposing ourselves to on a daily basis. I often wonder why I have various skin issues, could this be the answer?

Google it ! You'll be surprised how many manufacturers and high end products use this stuff!

Apparently it causes rashes lumps and swelling - lumps I could be mistaking for Acne?

I am not sure i don't seem to have allergies and I am sure symptoms would be more severe and I don't want to be hysterical but certainly am going to start checking ingredients on my products!

I know sometimes we can get on 'fads' about things but surely all this artificial stuff can't be good for your skin or skin care routine. I really am not a believer in looking at the ingredient list of any products. I don't understand half of the ingredients and that is a major 'turn off' for me. I am starting to lose faith in the beauty industry in terms of trusting the products to not be harmful! I will be looking at they ingredients list for all of my products and saying bye bye to those which harbour these harmful chemicals

At the end of the day we are still living in the generation of artificial beauty and we won't know until those generations get older and we see the knock on effect of artificial chemicals or products.

Photo taken from the dailymail.co.uk (believed to be in the public domain) read the full article on MI on their website.

Read all about it - reverse the ageing process naturally

I wouldn't usually quote any newspapers but I simply can't resist this one! I read it this morning on The Daily Mail UK,

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2423211/How-healthy-lifestyle-reverse-ageing-process-Eating-doing-yoga-protect-cells-stopping-DNA-fraying.html

I am the type of person to start something and give it up like Yoga, eating Gluten free, eating super healthy! I need some motivation to keep it up. I enjoyed yoga a lot and guess what I'm set up in my living room about to do...Yoga through my Smart TV!

So Yoga has many benefits, to be honest I just love the fact it doesn't make me sweat! I have cardio exercise and have little stamina. Yoga for me is the perfect was to exercise, the whole mind cleanse I feel allows me to just disconnect myself from the world of work, living, politics and even the pressures of a social life! It also allows me to focus on my breathing, I tend to get headaches after lots of 'un natural' breathing. I believe this is due to that fact then breathing in a way that uses deep breathes, in thought the nose and out through the mouth actually disturbs toxins within the body. That helps!

I am always keen to try anything natural that helps reverse or slow down the ageing process. I secretly have issues about getting old! I can't wait for you to see my blog in 20 years and see how I have aged! Hopefully through everything I am trying and your help and support I can celebrate my looks!

If this worked for men - will it work for women? i would say this is highly probable. It's no surprise healthy eating and exercise can help you live longer I guess but this gave me the early morning motivation I need to change! I think my diet is terrible to be honest, I really should embrace healthy living. I am a bit of a sugar addict and this certainly won't help the ageing process! (Or my acne!)

I guess this could improve my skin too, I'm going to use this blog as my diary to track my progress yoga wise, skin care wise and healthy living wise. It's not going to be easy for me but I am keen to reverse and prevent the ageing process from getting its grips on me!

Where did time go? How to turn it back??

Ok so I am on the hunt for anti ageing - aged 26 (nearly 27) I need to prevent damage!

I do not know where time went, I notice fine lines on my forehead and around my eyes! I would love an anti ageing cure that is natural! That is why I use bee venom! However it's not the natural Botox it is made out to be!

I wear foundation with a sunscreen in everyday of at least SPF25 it, I ensure I am we'll protected every single day. Skin care wouldn't be complete without taking into account environment damage caused by the sun.

Do I need creams to help me (maybe not with acne problems)? It is difficult for me to experiment with products due to my Acne.

Sometime I can control through is exercising my face! Someone once told me you have more muscles in your face than anywhere else on your body! So why didn't I ever think before I exercise my face a lot more!

Quick one for today - look up and kiss the ceiling 30 times!

I try and do these Facercises in the car on my way to work. Yes, ok you look a bit silly but worth it!

Before you start on the Facercise I would practise in front of a mirror so you can see that you are following the exercises properly and not putting yourself at risk of developing lines in odd places!!!

Creole Maggio leads the way n Facercise, I have read one of her books! Given to me by a friend! To be honest this has changed the way I think about skin care and exercise.

Apparently you can improve your face within 6 days! I will be honest, with such young skin I don't notice any amazing improvements, although my face does feel firm after doing the exercise!

The eye opener and the neck and chin lift are my favourite exercises!

There is a great overview or 'taster' on the daily mail website with pictures, see the below link:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1361218/The-ultimate-facercise-Forget-Botox--just-days-firmer-face-naturally.html

The morning and night cleanse

I thought in celebration of a new blog I'd try a new cleanser. A relatively cheap one at £5.60 (sale price) from the body shop!

A beautiful smell and a light texture - a very good start! Face felt fresh - I'll keep you posted on how I get on!

http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/shop-by-range/vitamin-e/vitamin-e-cream-cleanser.aspx

I think trying to cleanse on the go is so difficult but you have to be disciplined and cleanse your face morning and night!

There are some key steps to good cleansing and skin care

1. Take off your makeup: Yes, this is the most important, I read something once that said it can age your skin by leaving it on (as well as being yucky!) so it is an important part of my skin care routine. I use olive oil to remove my eye make up and always take extra care around the skin of my eyes.

2. Choose products to suit your skin: I think you have to experiment at times and watch as your skin preferences change over time! Having 'normal' skin means you are very lucky and can experiment a little more. For those with sensitive skin it has to be gentle to avoid breakouts! (like my skin!)

3. Take your time: Open your pores with lukewarm water (nothing too warm, or else it can make the skin dry and also harm the skin). Then use a cleanser that suits your skin type to clean the face. I always use my cleanser on your finger tips and rub all over my face gently in a circular motion all over my face and neck! (Don't forget your neck!)

4. Listen to your skin: was your face not just morning and night but after any exercise or sweating! Your face will tell you when it's feeling grimey!

5: Follow up: tone and moisturise!

Lights.Camera.HighDefinition

I have been having HD brows for 2 years now! It is my monthly must have. I heard a beautician the other day saying HD is a normal tint but with threading - they couldn't be more wrong! My eyebrows are not slugs, they're not painted!

My therapist at Beautified I'm Penkhull (Stoke-on-Trent) has transformed my shape from over plucked barely there brows to high definition, shaped to my bone structure wonder pieces that get more attention than anything else I wear!

So what are HD Brows?
It’s sold as a unique treatment for the 'ultimate well-groomed, high definition eyebrows.' It's a 7 step process involving tint, wax, thread, shape, tweezing and styling.

I really believe it does make my eyebrows stand out more, the whole experience is amazing, the best hour of my month! The HD approach doesn't follow a one size fits all approach for shape, the stylist literally measures your face and studies your face and bone structure to make the best shape for your face.

HD Brows also retail a make-up range - a collection of blushers, powders and palettes to suit every skin tone. I haven't yet invested in these as I have my own make up include brow brushes etc.

There is one thing that is certain - I won't go anywhere without my brows, I honestly think they shape my face and look flawless!

http://hdbrows.com/

See my brow journey! (Top right most recent) *sorry for poor quality images, taken from Facebook*

me and the bee

my friend had replaced her Botox injections with this and had results (she does look amazing but no different than normal!) so I thought at 25 (at the time), that I should try it (I've never used botox or fillers and have lines appearing). At £73.00 a pot it is a big decision....

how did I use it?
I used a ten pence sized amount after cleansing every morning and night. I also had 2 bee venom facials at an approved Heaven therapy lounge.

I used it for 12 months

first impressions....
 a pleasant  smell, light texture felt fabulous on my skin.

relationship with other products...
I couldn't use a primer as it felt too much, nor a sun screen so I didn't feel adequately protected in the heat. I also found user a moisturiser too greasy.... in saying that under make up it felt good and at night when it was just the mask on my face it felt lovely on my skin.

the results?
the first month was a bit spotty I thought that was my skin getting used to the product, I had changed my cleanser at the same time. I did notice that it felt more 'heavy' when I raised my eyebrows but I didn't notice any improvement in fine lines. My skin improved dramatically after the first full facial and I was really pleased with the results, had my second facial 8 weeks later and again was pleased how some red marks from old spots had disappeared. The downside is I felt like I got more spots (counted 21 on my face at one point). I stopped using bee venom and my skin has been fine! Strange as tee tree and coca butter (ingredients) are supposed to be good for spot control! I guess everyone is different!

will I buy it again?
I spent £266 in total on bee venom mask and facials - I don't think it was the best way I have ever spent that kind of money - would say save it for a Mulberry :-)


Bee Venom Mask - Heaven by Deborah Mitchell