My Skincare Routine /// Natural & Organic

Hi Lovelies,


Welcome back! And welcome, if you are new here 💕💕💕

Bella Aura products - save 15% with code "renata15"

How are all of you, I hope you are well?

As you can see from the title, today we are talking about my everyday skincare routine. I have done a post like this long long time ago, about a year and a half ago, and while my routine stayed on the minimal side, my products have completely changed. You see, having such a uber sensitive and dermatitis prone skin, I was having such a hard time finding the right products for me - we all know our skin changes after we hit that big 3-0 and for me it was followed by perioral dermatitis out of the blue (see my story here. I promised an update, and that is still in the works, can somebody come over and kick my booty so I could finally get round to it??). Long story short, I had to completely overhaul my routine and change all the products - if having sensitive and highly reactive skin wasn't bad enough, my dermatitis patch would flare up on contact with almost 90% of the products. Don't get me wrong, I love green beauty, of course I do, but I was having such a hard time finding my products, and was kind of growing tired of playing of this will-my-skin-react-or-not game. I finally had to admit to myself that my skin is too sensitive for most of what green beauty has to offer. Just when I thought I finally had reached that sweet spot of perfecting my skincare down to a T, I would suddenly get a reaction either to a new product or a new combination of existing products. SO NOT FUN. When I looked back to my old skincare routine post (see it here), it reminded me of those times. Don't get me wrong, products I talk about in that post are all great products, and I still think highly of them, but at the same time I am so glad I don't have to play that stumbling game of using a little bit of Earthwise Beauty here, a little of ISUN there, maybe I can add a little of NYR or DrHauschka there, oh, and I really want to add Mahalo into the mix, but will my skin be able to handle this concoction and that much of actives? 

Thankfully all of these problems were solved in one go - please step forward Bella Aura (review) created by fabulous boss babe Yasmine Jones. Let me tell you this straight - I didn't have high hopes for this line, and knowing the higher price point I kind of wanted not to like it deep down (don't ask), but it took only two days of trying the products to fall deeply head over heels in love with the line - and seeing my dermatitis patch heal on day three, sealed the deal even further. That's when I knew this is what I want to use for ever and ever from now on, even thought it is not a budget line. You see, you can't put a price tag on beauty, and having a clear skin is priceless. Just ask anyone with troubled skin! Having good skin day(s) gives you wings and this new found confidence, and that, my friends, is priceless. Besides, that would be money well spent, as I know this is the best line for me - no more guessing game if the product will work for me or not. I can forget about it, and just keep going on with my life. Fast forward six+ months, Bella Aura is still what I use, and it's all I want to use - and let me tell you, that's an amazing feeling! I simply know it will work brilliantly for me, and I am looking forward to my skincare time every single day. And no more dermatitis flare ups (unless I gluten myself unknowingly), how amazing is that? Any of you's who deal with dermatitis know the feeling, it makes you feel on top of the world, doesn't it? I have so much of love and respect for Bella Aura and the resilient and amazing woman behind it - and I want to shout from the rooftops about it.

So, let's see what my skincare routine is like these days?

Even though I am a green beauty blogger, I actually use very little products in my day to day life - mainly Bella Aura line, which takes care of my skincare needs, plus very few other additional products that I will tell you about in just a second.


AM Routine

In the morning I mist my face with either camomile or rose water by Alteya Organics (review) or some gentle toner and wipe my face clean (I don't wash my face in the mornings) to prepare it for Bella Aura Daily Repair Moisturizer (2 pumps) mixed with Antioxidant Booster (1 pump). I'll pat it onto my skin and move on to Instant Lift Eye Contour, which I try to half-pump to get just the right amount of product, and gently pat it into my under eyes. By the way, watch Yasmine's video on her IG page for some fabulous face massage techniques while you are doing your skincare - I sure learned a thing or two! Next goes on my sunscreen, all natural of course - at the moment (for the last four years actually) I am using Kimberly Sayer Ultra Light Organic Facial Moisturzer SPF30 or this new Madara Plant Stem Cell Age Protecting Sunscreen SPF30  this didn't work out for me, broke me out and was way too dark. It was replaced by W3LL People BioTint Multiaction Moisturizer SPF30 in Light and I haven't looked back since! And then my skin is ready to face the day.

Skincare routine - natural and organic products

PM Routine

In the evening I wash my face with Bella Aura cleanser (of course), taking my eye make up with either organic coconut oil or jojoba oil, and then move on onto Bella Aura Night Cellular Renewal cream, mixed with Antioxidant Booster, followed by Instant Lifting Eye Contour. My skin is calm, happy and nourished, and I need nothing else for the most of the time. For the times I decide to pamper myself, I love a good mask, and the ones I love are Caffeine sheet masks by 100%Pure, which I dubbed Hannibal masks - I'll spare you the selfie of me wearing it, although I have it in my IG feed somewhere way down. I am not too happy about the plastic waste that comes with it, for this reason alone I rarely allow them for myself, but boy, they do make your skin red carpet ready. Another masks I love the most is manuka honey masks, to which I add some ingredients from my kitchen cabinets - talk about edible mask, right? See my post here and you will be glad you did :) I worked hard to bring you 12 different recipes, so you will definitely find a variation to suit your skin. I will also reveal the trick how I get my manuka honey for much cheaper. If you want to see a post on my full mask collection, please do let me know and I'll be happy to do that for you. For the times when my skin needs something more moisturizing (think cold weather and/or freezing wind) I add a drop or two of facial oil or a balm on top. 
I am very light handed with exfoliation, it is taken care of by using a Konjac sponge with my Bella Aura cleanser for every day, and I will use a specific product in a form of l'Odaïtès Pépite de la Palmeraie - Gentle Polyphenol Exfoliator once a week. My super sensitive skin thanks me for this super streamlined routine. That's it! Yasmine has done a brilliant job with this line, and I really respect and appreciate all the hard work that went into it. If you want to know more about the beautiful natural ingredients she uses in her emulsions, please see my blog review, I have loads of information there.

 I am definitely not one of those beauty bloggers/vloggers who pile on everything they have on the skin - maybe it works for some people, but not for me. I am telling you, you need way less products than you think you do, and what's best, your skin will thank you for it too.



*Update from 2020 on why I no longer choose to support Bella Aura brand - while I still think products are fantastic, I also have to say I am ghosted and probably dropped as an ambassador. I still love the products & I will try to repurchase them with my own money when I am in better financial position. At the moment the story is that my DMs and emails go unanswered for months. The only time I got a reply, it was very vague “we do not know what we will do with Ambassador program” type, yet I see it is still going strong – just without me. It stings and I have to think if I still want to continue to support the brand who would play ghosting games and not be straight with me once asked head on. I have no time for shadiness, when I was nothing but loving and supporting towards them. That’s not the energy I want to bring into this year and my life going forward.



I have a few more blog posts on the way, Get Ready/Un-ready With Me kind of ones, where I will touch on more products and techniques in a more elaborate way, I'll include make up and bodycare too, because I am constantly asked about it - so please stay tuned xo

See all my posts here

Please make my day and share this or any of my blog posts on social media - it helps to get the green beauty word out and for that I Thank You!

Follow me on 

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(want to make my day? hit that "follow" button while you are there, thanking you!)

That's all for today. See you here very shortly!

Lots of Love,

Renata.

My little beauty hacks

Hello Lovelies,




Welcome back! And if you are new here, welcome 💕💕💕

My little beauty hacks

So I was commenting on someone's request on Love Lula's Facebook Group, where the person wanted to know what beauty hacks people use, and as my comment was getting rather long, I thought why I don't blog about it on my own? And it seemed apt for the Beautiful New Year Challenge I am doing at the moment, so it was the perfect reason to go on and lay all my cards on the table. So I am spilling all my (cheapskate) beans and I hope you will find it interesting and/or useful.

You guys know I am all about saving money where I can, DIY-ing what I can (only with simplest ingredients you already have, promise!) and generally speaking finding new uses for the products I already own gives me a buzz! And if that eliminates buying one or two products, then so much better! Or over 25 in my case (post here) - trust me to take "5 Products I can Live Without" tag and run with it 😉

DIY Liquid Eyeliner

DIY Liquid Eyeliner

Did you know that you can create your own liquid liner from your black (or any other colour) eye shadow? I have a post on it here, but it is really simple - just wet the brush, dip it in the shadow and apply. Depending how long wearing and how pigmented your eye shadow is, you can totally get away not buying liquid liner at all! I love a cat eye, but I suck at it still, plus I don't have time for it in the mornings, so I find my liquid eye liners dry up or go bad on me most of the time, way before I have a chance to finish them up. And as they are not the cheapest make products (seriously, if you happen to know good AND cheap liquid liner that wouldn't crumble away after a few hours, do us all a favour and let us know in the comments below!), I don't always have it, and when I don't, I know I can rely on this trick. A single pot of black shadow shouldn't break the bank, and mine has lasted three years with no end in sight. I got mine for 3€ in the bargain bin of TKMaxx beauty section (Bellapierre, if you want to know. It was opened and probably swatched, so therefore reduced to next to nothing, but I figured since it is loose mineral powder, not a lipstick or mascara, there was little risk of contamination, so I took a chance). Make sure to read my Green Beauty Finds in TKMaxx post, one of my worst kept secrets ya all! With 80+ photos to boot. Yep, I like working hard on my posts.

Oil/ balm highlight

Running out of cream highlight  or not big on them at all? No worries at all - all you need is a bit of coconut oil (or a balm) on top of your cheeks for the most beautiful and natural glow. I learned this trick from a magazines from a make up artist. This won't work as your inner eye corner highlight, mind you.

Coconut oil scalp mask

In all honesty, I never buy scalp masks, it is all too easy to DIY with coconut oil. I usually add a few drops of rosemary essential oil, as it is amazing for the hair, and of course you can add any other ingredients that are good for the hair too, like honey, and raw egg, etc. I don't, as I sometimes leave this scalp treatment overnight, as I can imagine egg or honey wouldn't work too well in this case :)

Hair spray or leave in conditioner or balm as a brow tamer

Pretty much self explanatory.

 

Concealer as an eye shadow primer

As someone who wears make up so infrequently, I never buy eye shadow primers - that would be a waste of money and another product sitting and expiring slowly on me. From the blog review I gather not all of them are good or even decent, so I have zero desire to go on "the perfect eye primer" journey. I use concealer as an eye primer on the days I decide to go all out with an eye shadows, and I am happy with it. 

Tea tree oil for spots

Specific acne products of any kind is something I give a miss for nearly ten years now, plain old tea tree oil is something that works like no other. For obvious reasons don't use near eyes and mouth, and use it on the pimple ONLY and not the skin around it - tea tree oil burns are real, and I don't want you to experience them!

 

Beetroot or raspberries stain/lip stain

If you are on a strict budget, a true minimalist or are simply running out of your blush or lip products, you can use simple plain beetroot or raspberry as a blush and lip stain. Trust, me, no one will ever know it is not a shop bought product. Simply slice a sliver of a beet and apply with your fingers in a tapping motion, blending quickly. Use the same one for a few days, no need for a fresh chunk every day. You probably will want to eat the raspberry after using it? Or maybe not. Well it is your raspberry, so do whatever you want with it - there are no rules! 
(ps strawberries work too, but only if you have access to very ripe ones, no the "plasticky" kind ones we have in the supermarkets - these don't have a colour, nor smell or taste to them like real thing should have. 

 

Coconut oil as a eye make up remover

Let me tell you a little secret - I haven't bought a single bottle of eye make up remover for years! I always use coconut oil for that, it removes even the most stubborn mascara as well as other make up, AND conditions my delicate under eye area, as well as lashes. Win win situation if you ask me. Reason #4658 to use coconut oil :)

Using facial oils or serums and creams as a hand and cuticle "cream" 

Can I tell you another secret? As much as I love hand creams, I don't always have it, and nor I am stressed about it when I don't. I simply use the surplus of facial oils/serums or face creams that didn't work for me as my hand creams.

Using under eye oils instead of creams to prevent concealer creasing

I use and love under eye oils instead of creams for a couple of years now - for me, they work better. And they don't give me millia like creams do. Another reason I love them, is that they never make my concealer crease, which is often the case with under eye creams.

Conditioner as a shaving cream 

Gosh, let me spill the last of my cheapskate beans - I use conditioners as a shaving creams. Works great, my skin is never irritated, no razor burns and I am happy to eliminate the need to buy yet another product.

Your lipstick as a blush/multiple

Let me remind you one very simple and obvious thing that most people seem to forget or don't know - you can use your lipstick as a multiple, depending on the colour, it works great as a blush too. And if you find yourself in a situation with no make up when you need it, you can use it on your eyes too - depending on the colour obviously. I wouldn't rock purple or black all over, but here is a picture of me using Inika Naked Kiss as a multiple on the lips, eyes and cheeks. Not too bad, no? All I need is a bit of darker colour in the outer corner of my eye and I am good to go! That's all your grandmother had, just think about it. Why we can't use it too?

Inika Naked Kiss lipstick used as a multiple

Manuka Honey Masks

Another hack or DIY if you will, is manuka honey masks, and I have just the thing for you - a blog post where I provide you with 12+ of different variations of it (here). If you are into green beauty, I am sure you are aware that masks tend to fall into two main different categories - clays and honey based. When you read the description of them they promise you all kind of wonderful things for your skin, brightening, plumping, nourishing, etc etc - and soon I started wondering, how much of these benefits are coming from the honey itself? Sure, many of those masks have wonderful ingredients added to them, but then there is me thinking maybe I don't need to spend 35 to 90 (and upwards) dollars/euros a jar to get the benefits. So what I did was, I got a jar of manuka honey at a very good price (I always watch deals like a hawk, mind you!) and brainstormed many different kinds of masks, with simplest ingredients you already have in your kitchen - all to be found in my post here. I worked hard on it, and I liked it :) Btw, some people have objections or doubts about manuka honey, or it's price point, and I have to say, you don't have to use manuka, local raw honey is your next bet. I explain my reasons for using manuka in that post, besides, when I see that the 250ml tub is lasting me well over a year, the 20+ euros I spent on it seems worth it. And let me remind you, you get 250ml, not measly 30 or 50 as it is the case with most shop bought masks!

  If you are interested, you can see all my DIY posts here.

So that is all for now - although I am sure I am forgetting a trick or two! In the case I will remember it later, I will add them on. And I know your tricks too, very curious to know and learn them! Please leave them in the comments below, or on any social media. thanking you in advance 💕

Lots of Love, 

Renata.

Green Life In Dublin

Enjoy my content? Any contribution to my PayPal Tip Jar -  will get You my eternal gratitude and more awesome green beauty reviews Your way! I weed out all the greenwashing products so You won't have to :)

Wish List 2018

Hi Lovelies,




Welcome back! And if you are new here, welcome 💕💕💕




Truth to be told I am mulling over this post since the middle of Autumn of last year, I've done and re-done (and lost it) multiple times, talked myself out of posting it quite a number of times too. Not sure if anybody's interested, but I figured it, the time is now or never! Ever since last year or so, I got into journaling, or writing down the thoughts that are pouring out of me faster than I can track them. As I looked back on my journals, I noticed many wishes scribbled here and there, so I took time to categorize them and write them down, because this way the thought holds more weight than just floating around your head. You might have noticed I have done a couple of these type of posts already, and when I looked back at them, I noticed half of the wishes I had came true. I believe that it is important to send your wishes "out there" - call it whatever you like, Cosmic Ordering, wishes to God, Angels or simply Universe, I find it works. And if you believe in it, it multiplies the chances of getting what you want! So, cosmic ordering it is once again :)

Natural Beauty Wishlist

(a bit excessive, I know. I am not the one to half a** things :)

Living Libations Sun Dew Trandermal Vitamin D Creme

I am looking into vitD topical usage at the moment, and I am into this Living Libations cream! Along with optimal vitamin D intake, topical vitamin D application can create a rejuvenating and quenching effect on skin. Sun+dew is a unique formula that delivers pure botanicals, potent vitamin D (2000 IU per application on face and over 100,000 IU per jar) to revitalize, hydrate and sustain your skin. Sounds good or what? I really loved all the Living Libations products I have tried to date and I want like all of them asap!



Living Libations Poetic Pits In Sandalwood or Musk

This has been on my wishlist for ages. It seems to be a pure essential oil to be used instead of deodorant, and I not sure how or if it would work, but I want to try it. There are a few scents to choose from, and Sandalwood is calling my name. If it fails, I can always fall back onto my DIY deodorant, can't I?



Living Libations Seabuckthorn Shampoo

I have bought a sample size of it and fell in love! Quite possibly the best green beauty shampoo. Their True Blue Spirulina shampoo is also very nice, see my review here if you missed it. I also reviewed their dental products in my Holistic Dental Care Routine post here, and I feel Living Libations obsession coming on - I loved everything I have tried to date. Pricy, yes, and although I can't afford much of them, I am determined to make my way through them one by one. The best quality you can get, and it feels like it.

Living Libations Best Skin Ever in Sandalwood or Sea Buckthorn

Iconic products by LL and I am determined to try them one day, as soon as I will finish off some of my current facial oils.



Living Libations Mint Condition Mineral Tooth Powder

Snippet from the official blurb - It is a gentle exfoliating elixir that polishes teeth with the pure ingredients of kaolin clay, coconut MCT powder, baking soda, magnesium, calcium, sea salt, probiotics, vitamin D, peppermint, and spearmint to harmonize optimal oral ecology. This gentle botanical brightener nourishes enamel with bio-available minerals. As you polish, tiny mineral particulates are delivered to the teeth and saliva.

All I can say is yes please :)

I think we can all understand I am well under Living Libations spell at the moment, I could go on for hours, but I think I will stop here. I have had a chance to try a few of their fantastic products, and I self gifted Renegade Beauty book for Christmas, which I can not get enough of. Oh, wait, that was Santa! Pardon moi.



Herbivore Moonstone Balm




Jane Iredale Circle Delete and Brightening concealer




Jane Iredale Lash Conditioner



Josh Rosebrook Vital Balm



Leahlani - pretty much the whole line



AnnMarie Skincare Mineral Foundation & Love & Grounded perfume oils



Esse Plus Ageless Probiotics Serum

Amly Mists - all of them



Bella Aura 

(update a couple of years later - not only I got a chance to try it, I am now fortunate enough to be their Ambassador. Life moves in mysterious ways, huh? See review here and if you want to try it, you can save whopping 15% off with my code "Renata15")



Lotus Wei Healing Sleep Anointing Oil




Beauty Heroes yearly subscription



Boxwalla yearly subscription

Natural Lifestyle Wishlist 2018

Natural Lifestyle Wishlist 2018

  
Berkeley Water Filter
 
Do I need to say more?


Bioptron


Vitamix or Blendtec blender

I have to be honest, this is almost-permanent on my wishlist, as is Thermomix, but as my budget is lemonade, not champagne money, any of those will remain on my wishlist for longer (unless any of you want to sponsor me, haha!). The thing is, my trusty oldie juicer broke last year, so I replaced that bulky and heavy thing with Ninja, and it is close enough to what I want. No complains here.




Living Libations Immune Illume or Immune Illume in Hotberry

These appear to be essential oils for internal use if I am not mistaken? As someone with a compromised immune system stemming from food allergies, I want to try this to see if it will make a difference. Official blurb: for the glee of strong immunity, a deep warm embrace of schizandra berry, seabuckthorn berry, ginger, clove, cinnamon, turmeric and grapefruit. A medicine muse of potent antibacterial antifungal plants, a drop or two with chocolate, tea or honey!
Potent drops; fortifying antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral agents groom a resistant immune.


Living Libations Sacred Sage Smudge Chrism

Sacred Sage Smudge clears senses, sanctifies sacred spaces and purifies places with a reverent blend of cedar bark, vetiver roots, sandalwood, silver fir, Douglas fir setting a fragrant foundation for a gathering of sages from many nations: Kenyan Leleshwa, South African Blue Mountain Sage, Spanish Sage, Desert Sage and Canadian White Sage.
I intend to use this for air purifying purposes, I am afraid I don't do any magical rituals :)


Stainless steel lunchboxes

As I want to move away from plastic lunchboxes I currently have (BPA free, but still), stainless steel is what I want over glass. Lunch Bots and Tiffin lunch boxes seem to be the cutest around. Come this way please!



Fermenting Pot

Another useful thing I don't have, but also don't want to spend my money on, so I am throwing this wish out there in the open and well shall see what happens. You see, I often make my own sauerkraut (see recipe post here) but it can go moldy if I am not careful, so special pot would be useful. But oh my goodness, parting with 40€ for it? I don't think I can justify it. As well as spending 25+ for stainless steel bottles and luchboxes. Weren't they around 6 to 8 euros before everything eco and sustainable came into fashion? Since when we came to think it's OK to spend 25€ for a glass bottle? Yes, it is sustainable, eco and reusable, but why we can't buy water in a glass bottle for less than five quid and reuse that? I myself am reusing bottle from Treevitalise birch water, and I don't see a problem with it. There's also fabulously elegant Voss water bottle, I keep my eye on for a good while now, but I am yet to acquire it - I haven't seen those around. 
Whoops, sorry for a mini rant! I noticed significant price spikes for everything that comes into fashion, from all kinds of reusable stuff to grains (quinoa, farro, anyone?) and it drives me crazy, that's all.




Chi Machine



 
Pro mini rebounder




Shungite pyramids

(let's just say the electromagnetic pollution is off the roof where I live)

Books Wishlist 2018

Book Wishlist 2018

 I couldn't help but raise a little smile when uploading this - just like with Natural Beauty wishlist, some of the wishes were granted already! Some of the books were found in my local library, Renegade Beauty I self gifted for Christmas, and 2018 started in the best possible way when I was offered Medical Medium books by a fabulous couple from the US, and I will share more when I will get the package. You know who you are, and I want to let you know that you are too good to be true and I appreciate you so much! 
I won't go into details of all the books here, if you get it, you get it! I like educating myself on many levels on an ongoing basis, and it is such a pity I have less and less time for it. I really ought to spend less time on Instagram and get back into reading. I am waaay behind my 10-books-a-month habit I used to sport. My real time reading lists can be seen here (don't forget to slide) and here. If you have any recommendations for me, please leave them down below - many thanks in advance!

Fashion Wishlist

Fashion wishlist 2018

I apologise in advance for this eye sore! When you look closely at the individual pieces, they are all fabulous, but when you put them together like that, it is a right jumble, I get it. I am someone who does not buy new clothes every month, or even season, so I can dream, right? I used to roll on the floor laughing at a cost-per-wear concept I'd seen in InStyle or similar fashion glossy mags, but now I see it makes sense. I could go on and on for hours, but let's leave it at this note - if I ever will be able to afford any designer pieces, I would like any of the Missoni garment and one Balenciaga bag. Amen.

Thanks of you are still with me, if you made it to the end, you are a total rock star and should pat yourself on the back! 

What is on your wishlist, I would love to know. Please share with me either in the comments or on any of my social media?

Tata for now, see you here very shortly.

Lots of Love,

Renata.

Green Life In Dublin. Green beauty blog

 P.s. Please make my day and subscribe & share this or any of my blog posts on social media - it helps to get the green beauty word out and for that I Thank You!

Follow me on my new blog Greenlifeindublin.com, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and YouTube. 


That's all for today.


Lots of Love,
Renata.

Enjoy my content? Any contribution to my PayPal Tip Jar -  will get You my eternal gratitude and more awesome green beauty reviews Your way! I weed out all the greenwashing products so You won't have to :)

DIY Facial Steam

Hi Lovelies,



Welcome back! And if you are new here, welcome 💕💕💕

 

DIY Facial Steam

How are you all doing? Hope life is treating you well?

Today I am coming at you with a quick DIY post - a facial steam, that is! As with facial masks, I am so late on the facial steam train. It's mainly to do with childhood memories and those horrible Vick's type of steams when you are sick! I was kinda scarred for life. So when the facial steam trend rolled around a year or two ago, I was like nah, thanks, I will pass! Especially when I looked at prices of them, around 35 to 50 dollars/ euros for a jar or dried flowers? It's a double no from me, thanks but no thanks - you get the idea of my train of thoughts.

Imagine my surprise when I was perusing my cupboards for "Bug Off Colds & Flu!" post, looking at my natural arsenal for not getting sick (not sure if the post will be called exactly like that, but you get the idea. Keep your eyes peeled for it), when I realized I actually own all the ingredients needed for facial steam, and decided to try it on the whim. And you know what, I actually liked it! Who knows, maybe this girl on the wrong side of thirties will actually learn to have some ME TIME and start caring for herself too, not just everyone around her? Anyways, that is besides the point! Let's get back to the post, shall we?

I actually didn't do any of the research on this, nor I perused the ingredients of popular steams, I went with what I had at the moment and what is good for the skin in my opinion. If you are a formulator of natural products or far more advanced than me, please feel free to weigh in with with your opinion and correct me!


Ingredients:

🎕 Linden flowers
🎕 Chamomile flowers
🎕 Lavender flowers
🎕 Elderflowers
🎕 Calendula Flowers
🎕 Red Clover Flowers
🎕 Turmeric root (fresh) (optional)


I must admit I am not sure if red clover flowers are a good addition or not, but I have it, so I might as well use it, right? Now that I am thinking of it, you might add green or puerha tea to it, rooibos should work well too and/or a drop of frankincense or rose essential oil, but those things are not necessary, they are a nice addition, but the steam will work perfectly fine without them. I am just giving you a couple of more options.


Directions:

We all know how to do a facial steam, but if you don't, you simply make a strong tea out of the herbs by pouring a litre of boiling water on four or five handfuls of herbs. I use wide stainless steel mixing bowl, but any bowl will do fine. When the mixture cools down slightly (you want it to be hot, but not boiling hot!), you take a towel, cover your head and lean down into the bowl for as much as you can bear it, for 15 minutes or so. The steam will open the pores and the herbs will do their magic in healing and moisturising the skin. 
I follow up with a face mask or serum. I also save the liquid minus the herbs for final hair rinse or use it as a face spritz for a next day or two. (no more than two days, and refrigerate overnight). It is all about saving and making things last here in Casa De Green Life In Dublin :) The last tip about using it as a face refresher is probably useless now that we are facing Autumn and Winter, aka The Sickness Season as I call it, but if you are a lucky duck living in a hot country reading this, then a) I envy you! and b) please remember this concoction has to be used within a day or two at the maximum, as it has no preservatives and is water based! Safety always!

 

 All the herbs were foraged either by me or my mom or bought in the health shops. But I believe even if you were to buy all the herbs in the health shop or online, it would still be way cheaper than a shop bought version. And you can also use herbal tea bags too, nothing wrong with that! Feel free to skip ingredients you don't have or don't want to purchase, the beauty of this steam is that you can skip any part or two of it, and it will still work. So take that camomile tea bag, add a couple of more of your chosen herbs to it and off you go girl :) Treating yourself feels so good, right?


So that's it for today's post. Have you tried herbal steam for your face?  How did you like it? Please share, I would love to know.

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Ta Ta for now!
Lots of Love,
Renata.

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