Tag Archives: Skincare

Beauty

Hijabi Obsession: Angels On Bare Skin By Lush

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AngelsonBareSkin

Get glowy skin with Lush

Salaam my lovelies! I hope that you had a wonderful weekend inshallah. I know that I mentioned how I moved, but did I tell you how it ruined my skin in the process? With the move, I happened to lose my Clarisonic charger. (For those of you who don’t know, Clarisonic is a skin brush that helps you clean your face and I don’t know what I did before I owned this beauty tool.). So anyhow, without my Clarisonic, I noticed that my skin started getting blackheads and I started to break out again!

I was resigned to riding out my breakouts, but then I walked in to Lush Cosmetics. Personally, I avoid Lush because I feel like the smell in the store is overpowering, and I just don’t know a thing about what to use. While I was in there, a customer kept raving about something called Angels on Bare Skin. So I asked for a sample. Angels on Bare Skin is a gentle skin cleanser and exfoliator that contains kaolin, ground almonds, glycerine, rose, lavender oil, lavender flowers, and chamomile oil. It looks sort of like wet sand with flowers sprinkled throughout. Here is my take on this skin cleanser:

It’s Natural

I liked the concept of using an all natural cleansing method. You may have read about my oil cleansing method review, and I mentioned there that one of the things I loved about the oil cleansing method is that it is all natural.

It’s Gentle

As a hijabi in her thirties, I noticed that I can not just tug my skin around. I have to be gentle and careful with my skin. I avoid anything with harsh chemicals or detergents. Angels on Bare Skin is very gentle. I used to use St. Ive’s Apricot scrub, but the scrubbing particles were too jagged and harsh for my skin at this age. The ground almonds are just the right amount of exfoliant for skin that can’t take a harsh scrubbing.

It’s Mid Priced

I can’t deny the fact that this cleanser may be a bit pricey for some readers. However, I find that when I invest in skin care, I can cheap out a bit more with my beauty products or skip some products all together. Your skin is something you should take care of since its an amana (trust) from God. If you feel like this price point is still too high, I would recommend using a DIY version of this product. Here is an Angels on Bare Skin recipe that seems promising. I personally think its more affordable than some cleansers I adored and used in the past (ahem Chantecaille Foaming Rice Geranium cleanser).

It It Perfect for Dry Climates

Since this cleanser has kaolin clay, it draws out impurities, but still has a nice lavender oil which not only acts like an antiseptic, but soothes as well. The combination has definitely helped me since I moved to a drier climate and my skin has dried out to the point where I look like a ghost. (Not a good look if you ask me. Though some desi aunties like that geisha look haha.)

All in all, I love how Angels on Bare Skin calmed my breakouts and helps me achieve a nice glow like I used to get with the oil cleansing method. So if you ask me, I may still hate how the Lush store smells, but I will brave it to try more new things. Are there any Lush product that you recommend I try? Let me know in the comment section!

Beauty

Oil Cleansing Method Review

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Source: oilyskinblog.com via Jayme on Pinterest

There has recently been a lot of buzz about the oil cleansing method among the hijabi set. The ever so lovely Amena Khan did a wonderful little video tutorial on the oil cleansing method, and I could not resist trying it! Yes, I know I am a sucker for all things beauty, but I promise you that this is definitely worth trying.

I have to say, I was already pretty happy with my cleanser (I used Chantecaille’s Rice and Geranium Foaming Cleanser) coupled with my Clarisonic face brush. However, I was being lazy with charging my Clarisonic and was just washing my face without the brush. Needless to say, I broke out on my face so I needed to change up my skincare routine a little.

It was just what I needed to try the oil cleansing method.

However, after reading a lot of blog posts about the oil cleansing method, I had a few takeaways. The first is that castor oil is the typical carrier oil for the cleansing method. However, if you have acne prone skin or sensitive skin, castor oil may not be ideal. I would say start off with castor oil, but tweak it to suit your own skin’s needs. The second is that you can use any mix of oils that work best for your skin.

The oil cleansing method is all about the idea that “like dissolves like.” This means that oil should dissolve the oil that is clogging your pores and the root of your bad skin issues. Remember, there are other things such as dead skin cells and bacterial inflammation that is also causing your skin issues. So the oil cleansing method promises to dissolve the stuff clogging your pores while avoiding harsh chemicals found in traditional face cleansers that can strip away your skin’s natural barrier of protection. I know from personal experience that stripping away my skin’s natural oils only forced my skin to produce more sebum (oil in the skin) and caused more breakouts.

I decided to try out two different combinations of oils. The first was 2 parts extra virgin olive oil, 1 part almond oil. The second is all almond oil and 2 drops tea tree oil. For now, I think the tea tree oil combination is working out better for me. My two pimples (I know, TMI!) started to calm down and I also noticed that the redness is going down a lot faster. As a woman of color, I also grapple with hyperpigmentation and scarring from acne as well. Well, I can honestly say that after trying the oil cleansing method, my dark spots are actually healing a lot faster than with any fancy cream (trust me, I tried MANY of these; including Clinique’s).

I think the true test is that I find myself really debating whether I even want to wear foundation or concealer because I feel like it masks my own natural glow!

The best part is that not only is the oil cleansing method natural, it is a heck of a lot cheaper than what I was spending on my original face wash.

If you are interested in the oil cleansing method, check out this great starter post on the oil cleansing method on Nature’s Nurture blog

Beauty

Skincare Basics

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Pssssst! I want to tell you all a secret. The secret to having unclogged pores and gorgeous skin. For years, I struggled with clogged pores, disastrous facials, and stress breakouts.

Finally, a genius at Nordstrom Spa used this miracle tool called a Clarisonic on me. While it felt nice, I was skeptical about if it would REALLY work. I mean it’s not a cheap tool that’s for sure.

I mentioned it in passing to my Hubby while I was pregnant, cranky, and complaining about hormone induced breakouts. So he surprised me with it (I think it was mostly to get a rambling pregnant lady to stop talking!)

It was the BEST present I have ever gotten (besides my daughter from Allah of course).

You can use literally ANY cleanser (drugstore, fancy pants, whatever) and it will clean all that gunk off your face, exfoliate, AND unclog pores.

So ladies, if you want to wear less makeup, invest in this. I know I sound like an ad, but trust me, Clarisonic did not pay me a dime for this post.

PS: At first, you may break out even more because using the brush causes more sebum to surface quickly. But stick with it, and you will see your skin improve.