As red as a tomatox?

I got a sample of Tony Moly's Tomatox Brightening Massage Mask and I have to tell you, I wish I had a time machine to go back and stop myself from using this mask.

When I put it on my face, I was instantly hit with the smell of permanent waves (big thing is the 80s and early 90s) and my skin started to burn as soon as I had applied it to my skin. I rinsed it off IMMEDIATELY. But it has left me with a rash, and a flare up. My skin was in pretty good condition this morning, and now it's all red and angry. The skin on my chin has a half dollar sized raised red welt. I think I am going to have to use hydrocortisone to soothe it. Maybe that's why they call it Tomatox. Your skin turns the color of tomatoes. *grr*

DO NOT USE if you have rosacea, acne prone skin, sensitive skin, or eczema. I am still debating whether to post an image or not. *frowns* Brighten skin, Korean style?  nope, nope, nope, nope, nope...

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Konjac Sponge Update

Acne? Rosacea? Excema? Normal, Oily, Dry or Combination skin? This sponge is a miracle worker. The activated charcoal is so good at removing acne that I only had 1 day of hormonal breakouts this month. 1 freaking day! It works amazingly! The charcoal one actually improved my skin tone. I could use it with cleanser, but most of the time, warm water was all I needed. If you suffer from acne or rosacea, I cannot recommend this product enough for you. It's gentle, yet highly effective. It's cleanses without overdrying or irritating. It's a total win for me!
Natural PureGanic KONJAC Fiber Sponge Charcoal

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Konjac Sponge

So I ordered a Konjac sponge from eBay to see how it will work on my sensitive reactive combo rosacea prone skin. Supposedly it works WITHOUT cleanser since it is impregnated with bamboo charcoal.

Currently,I use a Micellar water to remove my makeup, and I alternate between Clarins cleansing milk, body shop seaweed non foaming cleanser, Cetaphil, and Eclos foaming wash, depending on the weather/hormones/skin condition. I am interested in seeing how it works without anything at all!

Have you heard about this yet?

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Oil haul and Glycerin!

Yesterday I got 4 oils and 1oz of glycerin from Butterbear products.

Glycerin is a humectant which means it attracts and moisturises skin. Glycerine also repairs skin but it CANNOT be used at 100% because it can actually take moisture FROM the skin causing blistering! ACK! So I am going to be mixing it in with a water base, and seeing how it helps my skin. :)

Cherry Kernel oil has properties that are pain relieving called prostaglandins. I am pretty excited about working that into a muscle rub or acne treatment.

Hazelnut is similar to almond oil, so I am pretty excited to find it. Tons of Vitamin E and is used to treat oily skin. Sounds like a fun summer oil to try.

Macadamia is super emollient, so I am interested in that around my eye area and on my elbows and ankles.

Castor is getting a lot of good press as part of the oil cleansing method and people are using it as a lash serum.

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DIY: Brush Cleaning

One of the things I see a LOT is people not washing their brushes. Unclean applicators and brushes are one of the biggest culprits for promoting acne. The bacterium Propionibacterium acnes (aka P. acnes) and Staphylococcus aureus (Staph A) are the resilient bacteria that cause acne and whiteheads and often times what we are trying to cover it up with is what is aggravating it!  That's why it's important to clean our pillowcases and phone often, but I digress. Cleaning our applicators helps reduce one of the ways that acne persists.

And washing your brushes isn't all that complicated.


First you need to see if your brushes are natural or synthetic. Natural brushes are made with animal hair/fur and should be treated as such. You want to shampoo them and condition them. Properly cared for brushes will last a very long time, and will continue to perform well. If you aren't sure if your brushes are natural or synthetic, treat them as natural brushes.

Synthetic brushes can take things like antibacterial soap. Natural brushes get stripped too much, and need to be reconditioned. I prefer to wash my natural brushes and synthetic brushes in Garnier Fructis 2-in-1 Shampoo and Conditioner and then spray them afterwards with a conditioning spot cleanser and reshape the bristles.

Weekly:
Rinse your brush heads in warm water, taking care not to get water down the 'ferrule' (metal part) because you don't want to weaken the glue that is holding the brush head on. Putting a bit of your liquid cleanser in your hand *a tiny amount* you'll want to swirl them gently in your hand and rinse them until the water runs clear. Place your brushes on a towel and 'roll' them trying to get as much water as possible from them. Let dry either upside down or on a ledge, so that water doesn't run back in to the ferrule causing damage. After they are dry, spray them gently with the conditioning cleanser and reshaping and smoothing the bristles, bringing them back to original form. You can use brush guards for this or you can use your hands. Either way works well.

Daily:
I spray them with this conditioning cleanser and wipe clean with either a microfiber or paper towel until no more product comes off of the brush.

*adding a few drops of Tea Tree Oil is optional but very helpful in the cases of persistent acne.

If you want to make up your own conditioning cleanser, I made up a little instructional card to print out and cut out to keep with your bottle so you don't forget what it is!

Conditioning Cleanser printable cards

Hope this helps!

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