My skincare TIPS!! for acne prone girls :)

Omg blog abandonment x_x 

THINGS HAVE BEEN SO HECTIC LATELY with exams, past papers, stress outs, bitch sessions and dance battles that I just haven't had a chance to update anything :( But my guardians have taken me out and now I have wifi past 9 o'clock hehe! 

So anyway today I'm here to share with you guys my skincare tips! 

excuse the pile of laundry at the back there

  Not the most flattering picture of me and Sarah, but I feel like it shows off our skincare efforts quite well in the natural sunlight :)

My skincare story: 

I had very bad skin for the whole of last year :( Since I moved to England, my skin was acting up because of all the fried food and overload on sugar. I had really bad acne for the whole of my year 12 life (Sept 2011 - July 2012) and it got particularly bad right before summer. 

As a result, my self esteem took a dive. I was constantly feeling inferior and trying to hide my T-Zone and avoiding the Sun. However I went to see a dermatologist over summer which definitely got the ball rolling in terms of getting my life back together :). It's been a slow but sure process, and now I'm very happy. I still have confidence issues due to body image and imperfections but getting my skin normal has been a HUGE step. I hope this will help anyone who is currently going through that phase.

The basic tips that will change your life skin:

• Change your pillow cases at least once a week. You sweat at night, and thus all the gunk on your pillow case will cause pimples and just exacerbate the acne that you already have. It's best to change your pillow cases and sheets AT LEAST once a week. Also, try not to sleep on your hair as that's a source of oil which may clog up your pores during the night.
• Shower at NIGHT everyday. The best is to shower every morning and every night especially in hot climates, but if you don't have time for that then I recommend showering at night. Some people may prefer the morning, but if you have skin problems, SHOWERING AT NIGHT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. By showering at night, you wash away all the dirt on your body and face (and hair!) that has accumulated during the day before you sleep. If you have skin problems, sleeping with oily hair is quite risky and just washing your face doesn't mean it's as clean as taking a proper shower. 
• Don't use cleansers. This mostly applies to people with sensitive skin. A lot of the acne washes will dry everything out which causes your skin to produce even more excess oil. Try just washing your face with warm water (water that is too cold or hot will shock the skin and cause capillaries to break, resulting in redness). This washes off the outter dirt while maintaining the skin's natural oil balance.
• Wash your face every morning and night. You've just spent 7-8 hours with your face stuck to a pillow. You might've been drooling. Who knows right :p I would also recommend exfoliating your face twice a week, but this might not be appropriate if you have a lot of acne. Don't use anything that is too rough. As your skin starts to clear up, slowly start using mild exfoliants only in the areas where there aren't any spots as you don't want them to scar. But exfoliating the clear parts of your face will make your skin softer and nicer ^^
• Make it a habit to not touch your face. Chances are you're going to unconsciously do it, so make a habit to stop resting your chin on your hand during class, brushing your hair out of your face or rubbing your eyes. Simple steps lead to big results :)
• Invest in a good make up remover. This can be in all varieties... water base, oil base... Just make sure that absolutely all of your skin make up does come off. Using a toner is also very good to make sure everything is out. Try to use a cotton pad instead of your hands when using the toner, as this will wipe off excess unwashed makeup rather than scrub it further into the skin.
• Sleep early, eat right. Your skin uses sleep to regenerate. This just gives you an excuse to sleep more ;). The oil/sugar content of foods may cause hormonal stresses which can lead to break outs. Eat stuff that makes you feel good, and it'll show on your skin :) Also try not to stress out too much!
• Visit a dermatologist. I would have never gotten my skin this healthy had I not visited my dermatologist in Thailand. She gave me medication approximately a year ago, and I still use it occasionally if I feel like my skin needs a little bit more care. Trust your doctor and make sure you stick to exactly what they tell you to do (cos this way if it doesn't work then you can just blame the doctor and you're not wasting your time & money by not doing as you're told right :p) However it must be noted that acne medication can be quite harsh so you shouldn't really use it excessively. 

I hope you guys found this useful :) These are the things that I've integrated into my life (along with my skincare routine -which I might blog about later-) that has totally changed the way my skin has looked and felt. It's actually quite weird because my problem area (forehead) has now become the nicest region on my face haha. 

For girlies who struggle with T-Zone acne: it's better to get it on your forehead than your cheeks. The skin on your forehead is much thicker, and therefore chances of long term scarring are pretty slim. 

Stay pretty and let me know any other tips down in the comments :) 

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Casual Spring OOTD!

Hey guys!

It's back to school for me and my British chingus but on the last day before I left THE SUNSHINE OF HONG KONG I did a little dress number and some loose spring curls :) Here's the look!

Dress: Cotton On (similar)

Shoes: White Leather (Mong Kok)

Blouse: Sheer white (Zara)

I bought all of these pieces last year (the dress was actually bought a day before a date last easter half term holiday hahaha :p) But since spring is back I'm sure there will be equivalents on eBay and ASOS ;) 

Hair! 

For my hair (it's already permed) I did the fronts and sides following Pearypie's hair tutorial:

And left the back as the way it was permed :D But of course you can go around your whole head using her method.

 Keep moving forward! 

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Laneige White Plus Renew -my two cents

Hi all :) 

So I decided not to do a haul, and instead show you what I got separately along with some comments that might be helpful if you ever feel like buying or trying these out. The first one is obviously from Laneige! 

I've always admired Laneige products -the beautiful design & packaging, their rep and the fact that everything looks so CLEAN and FRESH ^^. So I went by their shop excited to try out some of their stuff :)

As you can tell I tried out their Whitening Plus Renew line, which the saleslady said would 'whiten and ~brighten~' my skin. I have a few freckles so I've been looking for a whitening product for AGES. I was going to try Keihl's but the 30ml just did not justify the price tag.

This essence comes with a syringe, and only half can cover your face, neck and upper chest area (like collar bones and stuff).

 

I wasn't planning on getting this but I just thought that if I was going to try to get rid of the freckles I might as well give it my best shot, right? I used this for about a week until I started to notice that it was breaking me out :( (I had bought at least 5-6 other products that I was simultaneously trying so I didn't realise which one it was until I stopped using this one). I did test it on the side of my jaw but there wasn't an allergic reaction or anything :s 

I have oily and semi sensitive skin (if there's such a thing -I don't break out easily and my skin can tolerate most chemicals but I would say it is a bit sensitive sometimes). 

The next thing I got was the Spot Treatment EX, which is a more concentrated CREAM rather than liquid/serum. I have continued to use this :) 

SO! Enough text from me. A round up?

• not recommended for sensitive skin 
• does brighten up skin (but makes me break out so causes even more scarring? -.-)
• face feels glowy in the morning :) 
• smells amazing
• easily incorporated into daily skincare for long lasting effect

So yeah if you have normal/non-irritable skin then go ahead and try this out :) You can find it on the Laneige website. I'm going to keep using the Spot Treatment and test out other brands to find a solution to my dark spots and let you know.

I haven't used this long enough to say if it will get rid of freckles (sorry!) but just thought I should let you know that the serum can cause irritation! I'll keep updating :) I have before pictures taken and am hoping I'll get the chance to take the 'afters' ahhahaha. see you :D

MUST HAVE: Coreana Black Diamond Mascara

I'm about to tell you guys about the best mascara.

Coreana Black Diamond: LUCID TOUCH CURL & LONG LASH MASCARA

I was first introduced to this by a saleslady at Colourmix over the Christmas holidays, used it once or twice and instantly FELL IN LOVE. Stupidly, I forgot to pack it when I went back to school but now that I'm back for the holidays, I've bought two more sticks, because luckily Colourmix is holding a 2-for-1 promotion for Coreana cosmetics!

This is what the brush looks like. It doesn't take up too much product, doesn't hurt your eyes and goes well with the already great formula :)

• Keeps a great curl all day
• Coats every lash
• Easy for lower lashes 
• Not clumpy 
• Quite natural 
• Just frigging amazing 

I think I had my lighting on too bright or something (the lamp was less than a meter away from my face haha) but that's what it looks like after one coat :) I like to just keep it simple because in real life you can actually tell that the lashes are more pronounced, and what's best is that it's very NATURAL :D Which is always a good thing with day-time makeup, right? 

Go check it out if you live in HK or anywhere where there is a Colourmix -I actually like it better than Sasa because the salespeople actually wear makeup and give out really good tips :) 

Photos were taken with my new Samsung NX1000 :) Looking forward to taking more HD photos with this baby~~~~

Open Day w/ Sarah & Philip

This post is RIDICULOUSLY overdue but it's verging on 2AM and I'd like to do this now :D 

So three weeks ago I went up to London for a university open day to have a sneak peek into what I might be getting myself into next year. Tbh it's not actually that important but it just gave me an excuse to see my Unnie (/Older sister/Mister sister) Sarah and her long-time beau, Philip~

 

As you can probably guess from the apron/bibs, we were eating quite messy (yummy) food. 

HHHNNNNNNGNGGGGGGGGGGNGNGNGNGGGGGGG~~

 

I've been DYING to go to Burger & Lobster for so long now! I mentioned it in passing a few weeks before seeing her so we decided to run in the POURING rain for 10 minutes while cars drove past puddles and literally soaked us through hahaha. The first splash was a bit of a shocker and we both squealed like panzies. I think it might've gotten into her mouth but we were already too traumatized by the fact that our hair was ruined AHAHAHAHA. Not ideal but so funny <3. 

Philip joined us 10 minutes later after his class finished. These two lovebirds went to Paris together and although I never posted a photo, they got me a box of Laduree Macarons as a late birthday present :'). CUTEST COUPLE ALIVE. They also paid for the bill (AFTER SHE PROMISED WE WOULD SPLIT SHE HASSLED THE LADY INTO TAKING HER CARD ANDDDDDDDD SHE SNUCK A 10 POUND NOTE INTO MY POCKET AFTER I PAID HER BACK -.-)

After our already quite filling meal, we went to Chinatown to get some bubble tea from Candy Crush Candy Cafe, where they serve all types of Asian-style drinks and desserts. :)

Unnie got the greentea + red bean bowl thing, fatty-me got the GORGEOUS strawberry crepe and phitty philip got a peanut butter toast (and I'm not sure if he even finished it...) 

Hehe food adventures :3 

I love hanging out with these two because Philip's really funny and quiet and it took around three meetings to actually get him to speak to me (Sarah says he's really shy but I secretly think it's because I blab a lot and talk too much so he doesn't actually have any time to say anything? LOL. it's the most likely scenario anyway :P) , while Sarah's always been my Unnie since I was a weeeeee little kpop newbie. They're also really hardworking and smart so they gave me some great advice on how to pick unis since I'd been so stressed about it after receiving my offers. Thank God it's all over now and I have a clear idea of what I want to go for :)

I finally got Bloglovin! :D Please follow me if you'd likeeee (before GFC disappears T_T)

On a seperate note, I have a MAJOR HK HAUL coming soon :)
Keep safe! Ellie x

Airport Gets: Bobbi Brown Concealer & No. 7 Night Cream

Don't you guys love Duty Free shopping :D 

It's kind of a tradition/bad habit for me to spend hours and hours at the airport sniffing out tax-free perfume and do a little retail therapy before I get on a long flight :) I mean it's either that or eating, right? 

This time I looked around for the Versace Bright Crystal perfume after seeing it was one of ClothesEncounters' favourite perfumes. But it was too musky and ~womanly~ for me :S. So I headed off to Boots and the Bobbi Brown counter to get a few...uh.. essentials. :P

1)

I've used the Bobbi Brown eye concealer pack before and lately my eyebags have been PROTRUDING out of my face so I decided to go back to basics instead of trying out different BB creams/other drugstore brands. This time I went a few shades darker than my previous 'Pale Yellow Sand' and got the Natural one. The aim is to not need to use BB creams/foundation for it to look natural! I'll put up a review maybe. 

2)

Second thing I got was No. 7's Beautiful Skin night cream.  My mom's been a big fan of No. 7 for a while. Finally, her rants and raves won me over so I used the Boots $5 voucher so nab myself the Night Cream for oily skin. I've only used it for one night so I don't really have an opinion on it, but will let you know how well it works later. I'm really trying to regulate my oiliness :( 

So far, I can say that it is quite scented. Which for me isn't a bad thing because I like having a nice smelling face. :P But if you're sensitive to strong scents then that might be a problem for you. Also, the packaging means that it's really unhygienic for dunking your fingers in. So I'll have to use cotton buds for now until I get a proper spatula. 

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On a seperate note, does anyone know how long sunscreens last for until the expire? I found my Shiseido 30+ SPF yesterday but I'm pretty sure I bought it three years ago. The bottle's still full so if it's already expired then I'll probably be really upset. Summer's coming up so I need a substantial sunscreen that doesn't smell too disgusting!