The Best Of Skincare Tag

Hi Lovelies,


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

Earthwise Beauty, Nyr, Neal's Yard Remedies, Mahalo - my Holy Grail items of the moment

(The pic borrowed from my IG. It is my AM routine. I have my skincare listed in a separate blog post if you are interested.)

So, today is the day when I feel like giving birth to a blog post, as it doesn't happen easily and organically like other times. Maybe it is that I am back on the school run after two weeks of sickness (flu first, eye infections second, don't ask!) and feeling very disorganised, I don't know? I am not short of ideas or blogging material, so I don't know what it is - I write and delete and write and delete stuff all day, it is like I have aquarium for a head today, haha! So when I watched Jenna Catherine video on Youtube where she did a tag about the best of skincare, then the penny dropped and I shamelessly self tagged in it! Yes, that is how I roll :) I will tag a few people on Instagram, this looks like fun!

The Questions:

What's your skin type?
Dry and uber sensitive. Also prone to dermatitis and I have hyperpigmentation or should I say dermatitis scars. My under eye area is like a real estate, with permanent darkness there, that no amount of green smoothies, sleep, fresh air or sport can cure. I am a lucky gal, I know :)

How do you store your skincare products?
I try to store as little of it in the bathroom as I possibly can, and the rest of my stash is stored on a shelf where I can easily see what I have and I can make sure I am using all my products. It is categorised in frequently used products, products that I need to test and unopened products in a separate basket.

Favorite ingredient?
There's two at the moment, blue tansy and turmeric, both have done wonders for my dermatitis prone and inflamed skin!

Most indulgent product?
At the moment those would be Mahalo products. I won those in a giveaway, and I am sure I will wince when it will be the time to repurchase the products. What can I say? My play budget is so small it's practically invisible.

Best budget buy?
Hands down coconut oil! Can replace so many things at once. At this point I feel everyone knows fifty uses for coconut oil :)

Do you use any tools (Clarisonic, Foreo, etc.)?
No, never had them and no plans to buy them either. Even with their sensitive heads they are way too harsh for sensitive skin and gentle is the way to do it for me - I am all about kognac sponges and organic face cloths. I believe we are not meant to scrub away a layer of our skin even if your skin is not sensitive.

Best mask?
Any DIY mask that involves manuka honey! I am working on a blog post about it. Expensive shop bought masks are nice too, but I am all about DIY if I can help it, and manuka (or plain raw honey) is amazing for the skin!

Best multi-use?
Again, coconut oil! I will also use my make up in many ways too, blush as a lip colour, bronzer on the eyes, luminous eye shadows as a blush toppers/luminisers, etc. Have fun and play around!

If you had to stick to only one skincare brand, what would it be?
Impossible to answer! I enjoy many great products from different brands, but if pressed to choose one, I would say Mahalo (even if they don't have face cream and are pricy) - purely on the grounds that I am yet to come across another line of product where EVERY SINGLE PRODUCT suited my skin and I had zero irritations or reactions whatsoever! Maryna knows my skin.

Best spot treatment?
Tea tree oil. I have used this and only this for years and years. Recently I acquired manuka honey gel with tea tree oil, which is also nice.

Favorite step of your skincare routine?
Moisturisers and oils.

What's on your skincare wishlist? 
Ha, how much time have you got? It is two miles long! But if you really want to know, all of the Mahalo, lots of Living Libations, Josh Rosebrook - yes, really! Plus May Lindstrom Blue Cocoon and Honey Mud just to name a few. Looks like I need more faces or time, ha? Not sure which.


So, there you go, that is my post for the day, and I will tag a few people on Instagram, purely because of convenience reasons. And if I haven't tagged you, but you want to do this tag, I tag you too!


Lot's of love,
Renata.

Beware! Woman Is Rising!

Beware! Woman Is Rising! by green-life-in-dublin featuring ankle length skirts

Winter 2017 Favourites

Hi Lovelies!


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

So it is about time I shared my winter faves with you, isn't it? I don't know how about you, but I really struggle in winters, cold, freezing winds, lack of sunshine really gets me down, and things that would normaly bring me joy don't cheer me up much.. All I seem to be wanting in winter is to go to sleep and wake up three months later! Wish I could do that. Unfortunately responsibilities and hungry family won't let me :) Add sickness on a constant rotation and you got a pretty bleak picture. My kids are getting over eye infections on top of other things, and just last week we all had flu, so it is safe to say I am just muddling through at the moment, February feels like a constant stuggle. Oh Spring, where are you??
Ok, all this aside, let's see some things that I enjoyed? I enjoyed all the products in my skincare regime, you can read it here, I won't go into many detais about each product, but let’s just say I enjoy products from Mahalo tremendously! I also intend to keep my masking game strong as I can really tell a difference in my skin for a couple of days. I am really loving a couple of good masks I have going on, Mahalo, ISUN Skincare, 100%Pure Caffeine sheet masks (review here) are high on my list right now, although I own a couple more and a small Everest in samples.
One more favourite I have every day is my trusty drink That Keeps Me Well in Winters, it really makes a difference if I get a cold of feeling under weather, it sorts it out so much faster! (blog post on it here)
In a bid to curb my SAD (have it for many years, was never officially diagnosed with depression, as the only time I tried to talk with my GP about it I was laughed at and told I have too much time on my hands and I should look at the people “with real problems” so naturally, I clammed up) I am religious about taking my vitD plus Rhodiola supplement (mine is from Solgar) and I can pretty much feel like a human again. I also got Louise Hay “You Can Do This” callendar, my first.  Also I dusted down my Happiness Planner, something I got a couple of years previously and filled in like twice? Whoops! I have read a couple of good books including Louise Hay’s but sometimes you need those little positive reminders in your day to day life too, so I consider it money well spent. Do these SAD managing tools count as Winter Faves? I don't know? Well, this is real life, and hopefully you will see me as real person, rather than those cookie cutter bloggers and youtubers with perfect life and ever permanent cheery exteriors... I am real person with real problems just like you and I, and all those daily problems you are experiencing, I have too, and hopefully we can all relate to this? This post was written-and-deleted-and-rewritten quite a few times, I didn't like what I wrote as it didn't reflect me as a person, or how I feel. Yes I feel excited about new clean beauty goodies, but that is not all there's to me, and I want my blog to reflect all of me, not just one positive product review after another. Does anyone else feel this way?
Speaking of reading, I picked up reading again, even though I have less and less time to do it, I try to read even a couple of pages per day. I am nowhere near 10 books per month habit I used to going on, but little is better than nothing, isn't it? I just finished “Fast Food for your soul”, currently into Dan Brown “Inferno” and I just got a couple of good books too (see my last post, Bloggers Haul) so it looks like I will have something to do for a little while. I don't watch TV, but I just finished the last season of Vikings and currently have withdrawal symptoms, haha!
When it comes to fashion, I am really enjoying Lewis denim shirt I trifted for just one euro, pretty much my only clothes purchase this year so far! I am really itching to go shopping, I might be late to the sales, but then again, some best bargains are to be had at the very end of them, where stock is heavily discounted to be cleared. Hopefully I can go this weekend. I don't know how about you, but from time to time I take a day off from everything and from everyone (including my family) and go shopping on my own, and I really recommend that to everyone! Spending a day by yourself, browsing shop after shop and then choosing a nice little hidden cafe or little restaurant for your lunch - sounds perfect to me! (Don't get me wrong, I love shopping with friends and family too, but those are different kind of experiences, and sometimes I need that getaway kind of day just to clear the head and get out of the funk).
Instagram remains a firm favourite, I just love beeing a part of the green beauty community, all the interaction with you guys is bringing me so much joy!


So that is it, my winter favourites, hopefully you enjoyed reading about them. Sorry if this post wasn't all light white and fluffy, I hope that upcoming spring will bring more sunshine into mine and your lives!


Lots of love,
Renata.

Balms, amazing balms

Hi Lovelies,


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

My collection of balms 

Let me tell you one thing, balms are the bomb, and if you haven’t experienced these little beauty miracle workers, you are seriously missing out! They should be your best friend if you are fellow dry and sensitive skin gal like moi, but all skin types can use them regardless. Skin acting up? Reach for a balm. Chapped lips? Had too much sun? Reach for a balm. Want to protect your skin against elements? Want to deeply soothe, hydrate and nourish your skin? Reach for a balm. You get the idea. I am obsessed with them since discovered them a few years ago, and it is something I always have on hand. You are guaranteed to find a jar or two at any given time in my house, and it is something I always travel with as well, because it is a multi use product, and it is just perfect too soothe and rehydrate cabin air parched skin. Heck, even when my face dermatitis was at it’s worst, Neals Yeard Remedies balm was one of the very few products my skin would tolerate, so I immediately purchased a full size of it once my sample ran out, and thanks goodness I did, it was one of the very few things that calmed the skin and reduced the insane itching. Those who have or had dermatitis or eczema, know perfectly well how uncomfortable and painful it is, and why not try all natural balm instead of those nasty steroid creams your doctor is prescribing you? Your skin will thank you.

Balms can be used on the face or just about anywhere you want to soothe, calm and deeply nourish the skin, it can be used on the lips, hands, dry elbows, or any dry patches on the skin, you can put them on the feet or all over the body if you wish. Well, that would be kind of expensive, but if that is what you want to do, go for it. It’s your call :) It can be used on the face (especially for dry skin people) and I often use one instead of the night cream, if I see that my skin needs it. The are specific balms for the face/body/lips or all over universal balms, so there’s something for everyone to choose from. You can also remove your make up with it, the same way as you would with oil cleanser, you would take a small amount of it, put it on the slightly dampened face, massage it into a skin for a few minutes and then remove it with a hot cloth. Face balms often come with organic cotton (or other fabric) cloths, so make sure to utilise those. You can use it on the chapped lips, to soothe the skin around the nose if you have a cold and constantly blow your nose, it can be used as a cuticle cream, hand cream, eye cream in a pinch, although I would advise to to use it at night, to avoid that oily feeling on your hands/skin. I also use it on the ends of the hair if I am out of the hair oil, but it is up to you if you want to do that or not. All I am saying that these wonderfully emollient skin loving beauties are a true multitaskers and can be used all over. The ingredients also range wildly, the base is often cheaper oil in a form of safflower, olive, coconut oil ( please check that it’s not mineral oil, more on it later) and then they have other active oils, botanical extracts or essential oils added. Plain balm will soothe, protect and nourish the skin (because that’s what they are made for) throughout day and night, but if you want let’s say antiinflammatory action from your balm too, then look for antiinflammatory properties containing balm. 
 This might be TMI for some of you, but I hope this will help some fellow mum with a newborn or a toddler out there, but I want to add that balm was exactly the thing that healed my daughter’s nappy rash when nothing was helping and we were in and out of the doctor’s office for two months, and all she was doing was prescribing stronger and stronger steroid creams to a few weeks old baby! I was at the end of my tether when I reached for my balm, and a miracle happened - overnight the rash was two times less red and angry and even shrank in size, and previously it was only getting bigger. It was sorted in less than a week, and I thanked God for this miracle product.
Oh, did I mention that it can be used as a mask too? Just keep it on your skin for about 30 mins and go relax in the meantime. Read a book or treat yourself to a lie in. You won't believe the change in your skin, and it will stay this way for a couple of days. You will also hardly need a foundation, as your skin will look so good without it. Speaking of foundation, one little tip, you can also mix balm with the mineral  foundation if you want to, just think of it, you will get great coverage while your face will be protected and nourished by a balm. Try it and let me know how did you like it?
Are you addicted to chapstics? Well, chapped lips aren’t cute; neither is becoming a slave to applying a product that doesn’t do it’s job. Ditch the conventional chapstics that are all petroleum based and filled with hair raising chemical, and move onto a natural lip balm made with beeswax, natural oils and maybe some essential oils for added goodness and nice smell, these natural lip balms will offer you all-natural, deeply nourishing hydration that actually heals.

Balms are made out of oils and plant butters plus beeswax (or carnauba wax for vegans) to solidify them, although I must correct myself and say they aren’t rock solid, but rather pliable and easy to use. Thicker and more emolient, “balmy” in texture. The ingredients in them vary wildly, and my advice to you would be to always flip the box or a jar and look at the ingredients, always look for the most natural ingredients you can find, you literally should understand every single ingredient in them. The reason I am saying this is because some companies cheat and use mineral oil as a base, with only a small percentage of active ingredient and still charge a hefty price for it. My hair stood up when i was about to purchase one popular balm with fermented paw paw in it, thanks goodness I checked the ingredients first! Needless to say I skipped it and decided to take my money elsewhere. Sadly a lot of “greenwashing” is happening and I always advise people to be informed consumer and always always check the ingredients list. We won’t go into the law loopholes and loose definitions of “natural” and “organic” labels, allowing chemical laden  products to be labeled as so, this is another post for another time, and in the meantime let’s get back to the balms. Where was I? Ah, the ingredients of the balms. Here’s the thing - balms are waterless, meaning they can last up to a year without the need for any preservatives (yay or what?) so you should only see some beautiful oils and waxes in the ingredient list, plus some essential oils or some “actives”, but that depends on the brand/balm. The simplest balm I have has six ingredients, and I love it! It is olive oil based with beeswax and some bee products, but as I just mentioned, this varies from brand to brand, so do your little research first to find the product perfect for you. Another balm I own is  rosehip oil based, and although it is significantly more expensive, it is also worth every penny, because a little goes a long way with balms, a 50ml jar lasts me about a year with frequent use. Prices range from 3.99 to over a hundred, so there is something for everyone for sure. Go organic if your budget lets you, but then again, do your research first, organic does not always equals big bucks, I found organic balms for as little as 6.99 for 30ml jar. I am going to purchase one of them and see how do they compare to my beloved balm I currently own.
I almost forgot to mention that you can make your own balm too, and it is pretty easy. If you can make your own pancake batter, you can make a balm too. There are tons of recipes on the internet, including my blog, and you can use as little or as much nourishing ingredients as you like, because this is your balm and you make the rules! Just remember to pour it into totally dry sterilised jar to avoid mold and bacteria growth.
Keep this post in mind for the upcoming winter, balm is exactly the thing that will protect your skin against the cold. Apply it 10-20 minutes before you leave the house and you will be good to go. I only wish my mom would knew it, because we never used any, and let me tell you, frostbite is never cute or pleasant. Then again, in summer it is good post sun, so it is a fabulous all rounder and I don't know how I lived without it!

So there you go, my two cents on balms and it's uses. Have you tried balms and what are your favourites? Please share with me, I would love to know! 


Lots of Love,
Renata. 


P.s. All products shown here were purchased with my own money or won in a giveaway. One is PR sample. This post was intended to go up as blog post on one US brand page, but not seeing it published there six months on, I take it back.

Natural Help for Cold Sores or Carmex Alternative (Plus One Remedy From Your Kitchen)

Hi Lovelies,


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

Perhaps I should have posted this at the start of the winter, not at the end of it, but oh well, better late than never, right? And to be truthful I never remembered about this product until the cold sore popped on my lip and I needed it myself. So I am sharing it with you too, if this post helps at least one gal (or guy) I will be a happy woman!

Ok, let's start from the beginning, shall we? If you are suffering from cold sore and you haven't found a natural alternative to Carmex, I am rushing to your rescue! The product is Lysine + Herbs balm by 100%Pure. It works exactly like Carmex, but has only natural ingredients, so we don't have to worry about putting toxins on our lips. The magical ingredient is lysine, and I will list all the ingredients below. You will get that tingling feeling just like from Carmex, but one word of warning for sensitive gals like moi, if you are super sensitive, put it on the cold sore only, not on the whole lips, or it will burn! Yep, tried and tested by unwilling human test bunny, aka me. (Everyone else should be fine). It costs around 6€ depending where you get it? See Amazon.
Ingredients:

Organic Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil*, Organic Cera Alba (Beeswax)*, Organic Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Essential Oil,* Lysine, Melissa Officinalis (Lemon Balm) Leaf Oil, Propolis Cera (Propolis), Chaparral Oil, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Seed Extract, Eucalyptus Globulus (Eucalyptus) Essential Oil, Melaleuca, Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil, Echinacea Purpurea (Echinacea) Extract, sambucus nigra (Elder Flower), Hydrastis Canadensis (Goldenseal) Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice Root) Extract * Certified Organic

And in my true frugalista style, I will share one more remedy for cold sores that will cost you nothing and you are most likely to have it in your kitchen cabinet already - it is garlic! Just peel a fresh clove and squeeze it a bit until that magical juice comes out, and apply that to your lips! Okay, that is not very social solution, and there might be no kissing that night, but it works so much better than anything shop bought, take my word for it! It will take care of your biggest cold sore in a day or two, and how many shop bought products can claim the same? I know back in the day when I used Zovirax, it took up to seven days to heal the sore, and it might as well be natural skin healing, isn't it?
So I suggest stop wasting your money on ineffective and toxic products, and get one of these remedies for yourself. Glad to help!

See 250+ posts in this FB album here.

So that is it for today,
Lot's of Love,
Renata.

P.S. This post contains affiliate link, and you would make my day if you used it!

Blogger's Haul January 2017

Hi Lovelies,



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

Green Beauty blogger's haul

As January is coming to an end, I was debating with myself (what? I needed to have an intelligent conversation!) whether I should do a one month blogger's haul or wait for another month to gather more stuff so it would make a more interesting blog post. But the thing is, I need to photograph things as soon as they come in, box fresh, so let's just roll with a monthly basis here, shall we, even if it means less stuff? This year I am focusing on quantity over quality, and letting the blogging thing flow naturally, for some of you minimalists this will still look like a lot of new stuff coming in through my door, but I am working hard on finishing up my current products (twenty seven to date this year, not bad at all) so at least my current collection is somewhat staying the same size and I don't feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of products. On the other hand, to some of my followers on Instagram, my collection would seem like junior infants compared to theirs, so I guess we all have to find our happy middle ground? As long as I can finish up my products I am ok with having some variations in the same categories, but not too much either, as I hate the thought of wasting products (or anything in general). (Any of you growing up in former Soviet Union at a time will understand me perfectly). So, without going too much into consumerism discussion, let's see what products I acquired recently, shall we? And a disclaimer upfront, this post is a mixture of things I bought myself, PR samples, one giveaway win via Instagram and a few swaps between my fellow blogger friends. P.s. if you live in Europe and are up for a green beauty swap, I am your girl! I won't go into details which is which as I am very clear about this in my reviews.

So, so far this year I a managed to acquire:

💕 P. Holford "Optimum Nutrition for your children"
Better skin in 30 days
💕 Louise Hay "You can do this" callendar
💕 Deepak Chopra "
(and I really want his and Kimberly Snyder book too)
💕 Wasi Sabi Buddha Eye Nectar - this will have to remain unopened for at least six months until I will finish The Passion Serum by Earthwise Beauty I am afraid, so I won't be to be able to give you my thoughts sooner, sorry.
💕 Badger Cuticle Balm
💕 ISUN Cooling Soothing balm
💕 ISUN Ormus Myst
💕 Nude by Nature - selected make up products, I can spill the beans if you are interested, but all I can say is keep your eyes peeled for a review soon. I got mini size of a primer, bronzer and mini brush, as well as the mascara, pressed eye shadow in Coral, highlighter stick in Bronze, and eye shadow trio in Rose.
💕 RMS Living Luminizer
💕 Kahina Essaouira Perfume
💕 Lina Hanson Global Face Trio - powdered cleanser & mask in one, which came with a cute bamboo spoon
💕 Morningstar Minerals Derma Boost Rejuvenating Mineral Spray
💕 And one product I can't talk about yet, as it is currently in the development stages. Interested much? All I can say that the owner of one of my favourite Irish companies is working hard behind the scenes to bring out a new product or two. We have to wait to find out! 

Sorry to leave you on such a teasing note, just couldn't help myself. What have you got recently? Please share, I really want to know!


Lot's of love,
Renata.

P.S want to see my previous blogger haul posts? Click here and here.

 

Green beauty and more wishlist - Winter 2017

Wishlist Winter 2017 by green-life-in-dublin

Hi Lovelies!

Welcome, welcome 💕💕💕

Here's my second post for the day, and this time it is my wish list, I think it is important to let out our wishes into the open and then see what happens. Life has a funny way of fulfilling your dreams, you know :) So let's see what my heart desires at this point of my life, shall we?

💕1. Josh Rosebrook products, The Nutrient Day Cream,  The Hydration Accelerator, The Active Enzyme Exfoliator and Cacao Antioxidant mask are the ones that call my name the most.

💕2. Lotus Wei Healing Sleep. I have my eye on this anointing oil on Content Beauty, sadly they don't have the matching mist, so I would have to get this. As I wrote in my Lotus Wei review I found myself being way too sensitive to handle anointing oils, and prefer mists instead as they have much lower concentration of essential oils.

💕3. Living Libations - I want to try their dental line, gum drops, frankincense toothpaste and any other product in the dental line. Plus their Poetic Pits is calling my name too. I keep hearing only the good things about their skincare line, especially The Best Skin Ever oils, but those will have to wait, as I have way too many face products.

💕4. Juice Beauty concealer. And foundation. And lip products. And skincare. Do I need to go on?

💕5. Bella Aura products. Everything sounds amaaazing!

💕6. Tree of Life painting.

💕7. Antonym Blush in Peach. And eye liner.

💕8. House plants. Would you believe that the only two plants I can grow are cactuses and aloe? I managed to kill everything else, and that's my mom being a florist and a landscaper?! Funny thing is I used to know a lot about plants, as I was helping to let them grow when I was still living at home, but as soon as I moved away I managed to forget everything. Go figure.

💕9. Buddha statue. You can never have enough Buddha statues in your house, right? And they look so good next to plants 😄

So that is it for now.

Lots of Love, 

Renata.