Yes to Grapefruit Daily Facial Scrub

Yes, I know, another skincare type of a post. I'm on a roll, aren't I? This is a bit different though. This product was a little more thought out, researched and planned than the toner (which I consider a happy accident). Before I get into the review, I'd like to bring light to one of my favorite websites: www.nomoredirtylooks.com . Actually, they have a book by the same name, and I do have that, but their website is also fantastic. If you are not familiar with No More Dirty Looks (or NMDL for short), it's about how two ladies discovered what stuffs really are in the majority of beauty products we buy - and it's not pretty. I highly recommend checking out both their book and their website, it really is an eye opener.

With that said, I do try to find things that are cleaner, greener, and better for you. This doesn't always happen, and I'm okay with that. I do try to make more of an effort with skincare than makeup, since skincare is on your face longer, and really sinks in. Also, by trying greener things, I have found what ingredients have actually been irritating my skin and causing it problems. No, not acne, but something else. Something called : Psoriasis.

For those who don't know what psoriasis is, don't worry, I didn't either. Basically, psoriasis is when your skin produces skin cells faster than they naturally shed, causing it to build up, itchiness and redness. There's no cure for it, and doctors aren't completely sure what causes it either. However, there are things that can aggravate it and can help it.


Now that that's out of the way, back to the review. :)


I love face scrubs. No denying it. Though I'm not why I would try to deny it. Seems like a silly thing to try to deny.

I was previously using one from Garnier and LOVED IT. It wasn't too course, melted into my skin, smelled fantastic, was affordable, and just seemed perfect. However, after my second tube, I started noticing something on my face. It was around my eyes, and on my left temple:

PSORIASIS

I couldn't believe it! I've only had it on my scalp (and the lower half of it, at that) before, no where else on my body (though later it started creeping up in places, but more on that later). I couldn't figure out what would have caused this. I've been trying different things, both skincare and makeup wise, so I wasn't sure what did it. So, I started eliminating things. First was the face scrub. I do love it, but I don't really need to use it every time, so I figured might as well start with that.

So I didn't use it for about a week, and I was flabbergasted: the bits of psoriasis when away! It did, however, pop on on other places, so I decided to do some investigating.

I had it previously on my scalp, but bought a shampoo designed to treat it and it did help (though hasn't gone away completely). So I compared the ingredients to try to figure out what was aggravating it (as far as I have found, nothing really causes psoriasis, just sort of happens, and nothing can cure it, but there are some things that can treat it). I was actually really surprised to see the shampoo did not have Sodium Laurel Sulfate, which I knew was in a lot of stuff from NMDL, and did know it can strip the skin of needed oils. I also notice the body wash I was using also had SLS in it, and I was getting patches of psoriasis on my body.

So I figured, that must be it! So out the door went my Garnirr face scrub (and my Suave body wash), and onto finding a new facial scrub!

After researching the internets for a replacement, I came across this:

Hmmmm......this definitely caught my eye. I've tried other things from the Yes To line, and have loved all of them (which I'll be having posts on later), so I already trusted the brand. And it was grapefruit (yay! citrus)! This was new, and I love how they keep adding fruits and veggies to the line (I think this was the 5th one). Luckily, the website actually has the ingredients listed on there. So I took a gander.

I found it at Target, and took sniff it right there. Holy. Moly. If you are a fan of grapefruit, or just citrus scents in general, you have to try this. It smells like a slightly sweetened version of a real grapefruit, which I think is heavenly. So I brought it home (after paying it, no swiping here!) and tried it out.

O. M. G.

This blew the Garnier stuff right out of the water. RIGHT OUT OF THE WATER. The texture was similar, but not as thick, which actually made it easier to work with. And those little "scrubby" bits? Amazing. Just amazing. I thought the Garnier one melted into my skin, but that was like using rocks on my skin compared to this. YSG just meeeeeeeeeeeelts into my skin. And, because it doesn't have sulfates in it, my skin doesn't feel tight afterwards, which did happen with the old stuff. Another thing I wasn't expecting? This stuff makes my skin makes my skin looks amazing, which I think the "brightening" aspect of it contributes to (probably the lemon and grapefruit in it). It looks smoother (feels smoother too, again, I think, again, because of the lemon and grapefruit, I know lemon extract is a great chemical-like exfoliatent), looks more glowy, and just plan better. I use it almost every time I shower (I don't usually wash, wash my face on days I don't shower, for that's for another day). Pricier than the Garnier stuff, but not too horrible (Garnier was about $7, this is about $10). And, best of all, doesn't aggravate my psoriasis. :)

Overall, I am sold. I will be repurchasing this, and don't plan on trying any other face scrubs anytime soon. It's a keeper. :)

Ttfn!

Em



Product site:
http://www.yestocarrots.com/product/yes-to-grapefruit-daily-facial-scrub?product_id=6311301

Avalon Organics: Balancing Toner

Well, look at that! Another skincare item! Who would have thunk it? Now to be honest, toner is still a relatively new thing to me. I've always done the facial moisturizer thing (well, as long as I have been getting to stuff like that), but toner? That was a foreign word to me. I've heard of it here and there, and had some friends that used it, but wasn't completely sure what it was for. As far as I knew, it was something that helped with acne, and I really didn't have a problem with that, so I just kind of ignored it.

Until I discovered there was a beauty community on Youtube.

I saw some girls talk about it, but was really did it for me was Nicole Guerriro. She actually explained what a toner was, and she recommended one from Neutrogena to try out. It worked, and was pretty cheap. I was sold.

Oh, and if you're not sure who Nicole is, here's a link to her channel: www.youtube.com/user/nguerriero19
I'm glad I tried the Neutrogena one, because it was so cheap. A nice, biggerish bottle was just around $5. Prefect for someone who's just trying it out. Overall, I'm glad I did. I like the way it made my skin look and feel, and I wanted to add to my non-existent skincare routine.

However, I wasn't a fan that it was making my eyes sting and water (sometimes even my skin), and it was geared toward acne skin, which I didn't really have. I liked that it took any traces of makeup off, but I wanted to see what else was out there.

So, while walking that "natural" section of Target (I'm actually in that aisle quite a bit), I stumbled across this:

A toner!! With oranges on it!!!
And that really was the first thing that appealed to me: oranges on the bottle. Citrus!! Yum!! One of my favorite scents!! Then I noticed it wasn't targeted towards acne. Another bonus!! So I screwed the cap off, took a whiff, and fell in love!
Overall, I love it :) It smells fantastic, doesn't sting my skin (my old toner did), doesn't burn my eyes, takes off any left over make up still on my face, and leaves my skins soft and smooth. :)

It's pretty much a keeper. I don't think I'll ever really want to try another toner. I don't say for sure I won't, because who knows, maybe one day I'll wake up and hate the scent of oranges. But until that happens, I will be repurchasing this little sucker. Oh! And the price wasn't too bad, around $8 I believe.
:)

Toodles!

Emily

P.S. They also have other skincare stuff that also smells fantastic! I can't wait tory them!

Burt's Bees Radiance SPF 7 Day Lotion

Let's start out with skincare. Why? Because I really don't think much about it, so might as well put at least one post about in here. :)
A number of years ago, I was in love with the Burt's Bees Radiance day lotion. It smelled amazing, loved the way it made my skin look and feel, was the perfect amount of moisture (I have pretty normal skin) and I liked that fact it was 90 something percent natural. It was perfect. And then...........it was gone. I couldn't find it! I went everywhere, Target, Walmart, Walgreens, but nothing. It was no where to be found.

Fast forward to about a month ago. I was looking the "natural" section at Target (you know, the half of an aisle with Yes to Carrots and Burt's Bees and such) and something caught my eye. No. Freakin'. Way.

It was my lotion! I didn't recognize it at first, because the box it came in was different, but it was my long lost lotion. I was giddy that I found it again! :)

......or so I thought.

From day one, I could tell something was.....different. A bad different. It felt sticky after I put it on (it kind of did before, but went away after a second, now it stays for a couple of minutes), doesn't give me the same effect it did before, wasn't as moisturizing, and, I guess, just didn't wow me. The only thing I could find that was the same was the scent. Maybe I thought it was better than it was because I couldn't find it? Who knows. But I do know it's not what I was looking for, and that makes me a bit sad. However, after paying almost $20 for that sucker, I'll be using it up for sure. Luckily, I guess in this case, it's a smaller bottle, and I'm a third of the way done already, so it shouldn't be too much longer.

Also, how weird is it that it has SPF 7? I mean, 7?? What the heck am I going to do with that??

Oh well. Maybe the next one will be a keeper :)

Thanks!

Em

P. S.Here's a link to the Burt's Bee's website, if you are interested: https://www.burtsbees.com/natural-products/face-care-facial-moisturizers/radiance-spf-7-day-lotion.html

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, and Good Evening!

Hello! Welcome to my new blog! Here is a place where I planning on sharing my thoughts, reviews, and reactions to new beauty products I'm trying. Why? Why not! I love reading reviews on products before I buy them, just to get an idea on how they work. Of course, just because this shampoo didn't work for this person, doesn't mean it won't work for me, but it's still nice to get a heads up, especially if a lot of people are saying something about a product, whether it's good or bad. I also enjoy watching Youtube vids of beauty blogger's reviews on products, but I'm too chicken to do something like that. However, I love typing, and have some down time while at work (which is a sit down job in front of a computer 40 hrs a week), so I figured a blog would suite me well :)


So I thought I would post my findings when I try these new products, if it worked or didn't, so that I can keep track of what I've tried (hence the "rediscovering" part, sometimes I just can't remember why I didn't re-buy something!), and maybe help someone out before they try one of this products.

 Happy reading!
:)

Em