Alissa’s Morning Hair and Skin Routine … Exposed!
Good morning, everyone! Today, we have Alissa…from Australia! Not only is she automatically cool because she is an Aussie, but she is the type of girl with the attitude that positive thinking can help achieve positively lovely skin. How cool is that? She doesn’t forgo products, but I’m guessing she enhances their powers by smiling! Read on, you’ll see!
Name: Alissa
Age: 23
Current weather: Typical Sydney Autumn…freezing cold grey-sky days alternated with sunny, warm beachy ones! Can’t make up its mind…but on the sunny days, Sydney’s the most seductive, beautiful city in the world.
Hair: Chestnut brown, boob length (we’ve coined that as a technical term now, right? :) ), wavy with the odd actual ringlet, plagued by dry split ends, fine but a lot of it.
Skin: Combination in the extreme. My skin is probably my biggest trial and my biggest insecurity. My cheeks and forehead are clear and soft, my nose is oily, and my chin, lipline and jawline are dry and prone to huge, painful pimples and whiteheads. I’ve got some scarring there too, which isn’t helped by my extremely fair complexion. Oh, did I mention I have very sensitive skin, too?
Favourite icon or star from the past: Gina Lollobrigida…what a gorgeous badass! Image via
In the shower…
I tend to shower at night, just before bed. I start off by dry brushing - something I picked up from reading this blog, and I’ve noticed it’s made a huge difference to how soft my skin is. I then apply my cleanser – either honey, coconut oil, or Stark Grapefruit Cleanse + Hydrate Balm, which is lovely and healing. I only wash my hair once a week, so if it’s a washing day I shampoo with Miessence Desert Flower Shampoo (Miessence is a fantastic Australian clean brand that makes everything from toothpaste to make-up…you guys should feature them, they have some great, dependable products!) which is super mild, and every few washes I alternate with a baking soda rinse (thanks, Alexandra! I couldn’t believe how well it works). I’m experimenting with all-clean conditioners at the moment – John Masters Honey and Hibiscus Hair Reconstructor makes my hair very full and soft, but also frizzes out my waves and curls, and every other one I’ve tried has either provided too much moisture or not nearly enough. The best conditioner I have ever used is an almost-clean one – Kinky Curly Knot Today (not available in Australia…damn you, isolated Southern Hemisphere! Thank you, eBay!). It has the dreaded phenoxy and also something listed mysteriously as ‘natural fragrance’ but the rest of the ingredients are clean and organic and SWOON it works wonders detangling my knot-prone hair. I leave it on for a few minutes under a shower cap while I wipe the cleanser of my face, shave my legs and pits with Dr Bronners Lavender Shave Gel, then I rinse well with warm and then ice cold water (reduces frizz and makes my hair super shiny!) I don’t use soap or bodywash or anything because I just don’t need it.
Outside the shower…
I moisturise my damp body with either coconut oil, Soapwalla’s Luxurious Moisturising Body Oil (the smell is so amazing I want to drink the damn thing), or whatever 100% Pure body cream I have available. I apply coconut oil to my armpits as a deodorant – I used to use Soapwalla which was seriously miraculous…until I developed angry red pits, noooo. I find that coconut oil works great though, even lasting overnight into the next day. I comb a little more Kinky Curly through my damp hair (it does double duty as a leave-in). Then I moisturise my face with either rosehip oil, jojoba oil, or Stark’s Cypress Purity + Defence Oil, which makes my skin so matte and soft – but it’s so expensive for my uni budget, so I treat it like liquid gold and ration it out. If I have a huge blemish or three that I’ve naughtily popped, I’ll apply a small amount of anti-bacterial gel or powder, just to keep it clean and dry it out. No blemish gel or tea tree oil or benzoyl peroxide has ever helped my acne, so I don’t bother anymore, and now my skin is so much less red, flaking and inflamed. My acne is mostly hormonal, anyway, so I try to work on eating clean and organic, and balancing my stress levels. And laughing a lot. I find my acne always clears up after I’ve had a good laugh.
Finishing touches…
In the mornings, I gently wash my face with honey and moisturise as above. I barely wear any make-up but living in Australia, SPF is a must. I recently started using Marie Veronique Moisturising Face Screen SPF30 thanks to a tip-off by a commenter on this site, and it is by far the best sunscreen I have ever used. It is lightly tinted and provides lovely, even, natural coverage and the zinc even heals my blemishes, I swear. I usually apply some RMS Living Luminizer to my lids and cheeks, a swipe of 100% Pure mascara, and some Soapwalla lip balm (coconut and lime is my fave). If I’m going out at night I’ll add some Jane Iredale eyeliner and some Ilia Lip Conditioner. If my hair is getting a bit oily at the roots I apply a generous helping of Lulu’s Organics hair powder and voilà! I’m fit to be seen in public ;).
Voilà, indeed! Thank you, Alissa! Any other Aussies out there who have some brands to recommend to readers in that hemisphere?
Miessence toothpaste is the best ever. I use lemon and also anise, was not as fond of the mint. I generally try to buy as local as I can, but this toothpaste is worth it. They do make a zillion other products, but I haven’t tried anything else.
Loved your routine, and your sense of humor! Went back and read the review of the Soapwalla body oil. Getting me some of that!
That is a really good way of getting started on a Friday morning..
Alissa,what a positive person you are!.. It was a pleasure getting to know about your produts of choice and reading your personality/attitude in every line!
Now,If we could only “xerox” you and spread all those copies around, the world would be a better place,wouldn’t it?
I loved reading this morning routine! As a hormonal acne sufferer myself, its such a nice reminder that the less I think about my zits and the more time I spend enjoying life the better the whole acne situation becomes! Funny how that works! Thanks Alissa!
Also great to hear more about Stark – they sound like a great company and I’m interested in trying them out.
Thanks for mentioning Miessence! I’ve heard about it online occasionally, but since I don’t know anyone who actually uses their products, I haven’t tried them yet. Several sound very appealing; now that I’ve heard you e-talk about them, I’ll investigate further.
Glad you’re a fan of the MVO Moisturizing Face Screen. I mentioned it a while ago on NMDL, not sure if that’s the comment you referred to, but I do love it. On my dry skin, it’s is not moisturizing at all (despite its name), but works fabulously as a sunscreen: stays put, screens those rays, doesn’t break me out, and I like the sheer tint.
Thanks for sharing your routine!
Totally agree about having a good laugh! Ah, the Marie Veronique again! May have to give it a go. Although I read that it’s not too moisturizing, and I tend to have dry/combo skin (actually, much like yours!).
@Alissa- Do you find it’s moisturizing enough on its own? Or do you always layer an oil underneath?
Oh hey guys, it’s Jess from Stark. You know how freaking crazy it is that I read this blog religiously (because I’ve always been a big fan of A & S, and their book is basically my bible) and WHAM! I see my own brand here every once in a while? It’s freaking insane!
Anyhow, @Sallie, I was checking out your site, and it may be my new fave blog. You are so crazy talented!!! Mad skillz, girl. I’ll trade you some product for some clothes! :)
xo
@Jess Big smiles over here. :)
Thank you so much Alexandra and Siobhan for featuring my routine! And thank you everybody for your lovely comments! It’s hard NOT to be positive with such a supportive community of clean ladies around…my skin’s going to be glowing for the rest of the day :)
@Annette – you NEED to get yourself some of that body oil, I’m wearing it right now and I’m having a hard time not licking my own arm. I swear I don’t work for Soapwalla…but Rachel, if you’re reading, I’m willing to go on your payroll!
@nancy – you made me blush. Thank you so much. I think we should xerox you too.
@sallie – Isn’t it funny the less time we spend thinking about it, the less of a problem it is? I think that’s why I always have gorgeous skin on holidays…because I’m stress free, but also just because I have more exciting things to worry about! And definitely try Stark out, their products are so healing and luxurious.
@Samantha – I’m pretty sure it was your comment that tipped me off to MVO, thank you so, so much! It’s as near to perfect as you can get in a product.
@Silvy – I always wear an oil underneath it, I think it wouldn’t be quite moisturising enough on its own. MVO have an awesome (but so so expensive) Sun Protective Oil that you can wear underneath it that bumps up the moisture and protection (I got it in a sample once, it was amazing)
@jessica – no, it’s insane how insanely good your products are! My favourite is the cypress oil, how did you get it to smell so good?
@ Alissa – Ah, I just serve the plant oils to let them do their fabulous thing; it’s practically out of my hands! I’m like a vessel that allows these plants that have chosen me, one way or another, to play out their magic. I swear. And I know, weird.
(And that’s the most esoteric/hippie-dippie thing I’ll ever post here!)
@ Alexandra – Even bigger smile back atcha!
Thanks for recommending Marie Veronique Organics’s Moisturizing Face Screen! So glad its in your morning routine! One tip I wanted to share with everyone. The Moisturizing Face Screen goes on great over our Anti-Aging Oil+, http://www.mvorganics.com/products/anti-aging-oil-plus. The zinc in the MFS can be drying for dry skin so we recommend you apply the Anti-Aging Oil+ first. Also note you can ask for a sample of the oil when you buy the MFS. Enjoy!
a couple Australian brands I like are Sukin (currently using one of their facial cleansers, their moisturizing shampoo/conditioner was a godsend when I had bleached hair) & Nature’s Quest (best hand moisturizer I have ever used. I use it everywhere. amazing.) neither brands cost a bomb either so that’s great, I’m a uni student too, haha.
I love the soapwalla deodorant, it works great for me and I don’t get any reactions. Also I swear by lulu Organics hair powder too. Great for those hump days between washes. http://www.floraorganica.com.au stocks both these brands in Australia now. Yay!
So interested to try the Stark line! Sounds really nice!
Is there a stockist in Australia selling Stark? Have’t managed to find one?Y
Alissa, thank you so much for your kind words. I’m thrilled the body oil works well for you (and sorry to hear the deo didn’t!. I’d love to talk with you about your experiences if you’re interested).
I LOVE these morning routines!
@ Cara. No Australian stockists yet… but I’m working on it! In the meantime, we do ship to Australia. :)
Alissa, so great to hear from another Aussie. Where do you buy most of your products from?
Would love to chat with you re. clean products in Aus – any chance we can arrange this?