Posted by Sylvie on May 7, 2012
Meet lovely Luna. She has lived in both the US and China, and currently calls the latter home. She does an amazing job at keeping her beauty products green by bringing them over when she travels back to the US. Read on for her efficient but inventive routine…
Name: Luna
Age: 27
Current Weather: Beijing at its best! Warm, Spring breeze, Sunny
Hair: Black, straight, shoulder length – can’t hold a curl for longer than 10 minutes
Skin: Best defined as complicated: definitely combination, acne prone, dry on cheeks, oily around forehead and T-zones. Beijing water is very hard and the climate is dry which isn’t good for skin that is prone to breakouts since many moisturizers can clog my pores but not using any will leave my skin parched!
Favorite star/icon from the past: Anna May Wong
In China there isn’t a lot of focus on “clean” beauty products. There are some basic drug store staple brands like L’oreal and Nivea and their Chinese counterparts. On the other spectrum, the luxury skincare market is dominated by brands such as SKII, Lancome, Amorepacific, Clarins, and some Chinese ones like Yue-Sai. There’s really nothing in between and there are definitely no smaller, clean, indie labels like in the US. Sephora opened here a few years ago and some “cleaner” brands have started to trickle in such as Boscia and Ren. I grew up in the US and am now back in China working for a multinational corporation. I usually come to the US about three or four times a year for work and this is when I stock up on my beauty products. I would describe myself as loyal but adventurous – I have my “tried and true” products that I MUST restock every trip and then there are others I learn about through web research (such as your site!).
I usually start my day by just washing my face and doing my makeup, and save showering for night, so I will frame this as morning routine, makeup, night time.
Morning…
In the morning I usually just wash my face with lukewarm water. If I want to really clear my skin for a meeting at work, I will use a cleanser – my favorite is Intelligent Nutrients Anti-Aging Cleanser. It smells a little strong but it’s nothing I can’t handle. After that I use Dr.Alkaitis Organic Herbal Toner, followed by 100% Pure Argan Oil Hydration SPF 30 (which I learned about from your site!). This combination keeps my skin very balanced and prepared for whatever Beijing throws my way: pollution, smog, etc.
Makeup…
I’m not a huge makeup girl so it doesn’t take me very long in the morning to get ready. Since I don’t use that much product, I have no problem with spending more for high quality products. I use Suki tinted moisturizer and Vapour Organic Aura blush in Courtesan which really wakes up my face. I use Lancome mascara because I can’t find a natural one that doesn’t give me racoon eyes by noon. For lips I use either raw shea butter or Dr. Bronner’s Naked lip balms, the one without a scent. If I’m feeling like wearing color, I’ll rotate between any of the Kjaer Weis Lip Tints or Ilia Tinted Lip Conditioner colors I have.
Night…
Before the shower, I take my makeup off with sweet almond oil or jojoba depending on which one I have available and then I dry brush myself.
I try to take the quickest showers possible because the water is really not ideal. You can’t drink it straight from the tap so I don’t really like to marinate in it at night. I wash my face with Intelligent Nutrients Anti-Aging Cleanser and use Dr. Bronner’s baby liquid castile soap for my bits and that’s it. My showers are literally 3 minutes long and if I wash my hair that takes it to about 8 minutes. I only shampoo my hair once a week and I use Intelligent Nutrients Harmonic shampoo. No conditioner. No blow dryer. My hair is not high maintenance at all so I’m totally grateful for that.
Out of the shower…
I tone again with Dr. Alkaitis and then do a few drops of YULI Skincare’s M.E. Skin Fuel serum on my face which is light but still hydrating. I never do anything thick or creme-like at night because I feel like that hinders with my skin’s ability to renew and push out impurities overnight. If I’ve washed my hair than I rub a few drops of the Skin Fuel over my head and comb through.
That’s it!
Thanks, Luna! Is there anyone who has any experience with naturals in China or elsewhere in Asia? If so, maybe you can suggest some new local brands?
Filed under Blog · Tagged with 100% Pure, Dr. Alkaitis, Dr. Bronner's, hard water, Ilia, Intelligent Nutrients, jojoba oil, Kjaer Weis, morning routines exposed, shea butter, suki, sweet almond oil, Vapour, Yuli
Posted by Sylvie on April 30, 2012
Happy Monday, everyone! Meet Aubrey and her nifty routine. To help deal with the hard water on an Air Force base, she uses a cool lemon-juice wash for her hair. A lemony scent plus sandalwood soap… Judging from her routine, I have a feeling she smells amazing. Read on…
Name: Aubrey
Age: 25
Current weather: Heavy, cool, just barely humid…and dusty. Not a normal combination, but it’s spring in Post-Flood Minot, North Dakota and the weather manages to be just humid enough to not be dry, just dry enough to not be humid, and as soon as the snow is melted, its always vaguely dusty.
Hair: babyfine, stick straight, light ash blonde, shoulder length, tendency to be greasy at the roots. Currently growing out years and years of heavily processed platinum highlights which were the last “unclean” beauty addiction I was clinging to. I took the plunge a few months back and did what will be my last salon dye-job EVER…all over, to my natural ash blonde. It’s been growing out natural ever since and love not having to touch up my roots with toxic chemicals every four weeks!
Skin: Fair (natural blonde), oily t-zone, incredibly acne-prone and moderately acne scarred.
In the shower…
First of all, I shower at night. I hate showering in the morning, because its really freeking cold here, and I don’t want to be cold and wet in the mornings. I wash my hair once a week with Aubrey Organics Swimmers Normalizing Shampoo. My husband is in the Air Force, and our last three bases have been in states with hard water… at least, I thought the water was hard…until we got to Minot. This place has some of the hardest water in the country. Think, ‘turning on the shower and getting hit in the head with bricks’ hard. My hair suffered badly until I figured out it just had to be clarified with a swimmer’s shampoo (removing chlorine, minerals, etc) once in a while. After shampooing, I rinse with 2 tablespoons of Volcano Lemon Juice mixed into two cups of very cold water mixed in an old conditioner bottle. The rest of the week when not shampooing, I just rinse my hair with the lemon juice mix sans shampoo. If it feel dry or intend to blowdry my hair, I deep condition the bottom 1/2 of my hair with John Masters Lavender and Avocado Conditioner after rinsing with lemon juice. And whether it’s marinating in lemon juice or conditioner, I pull it up in a bun and leave it while I shave my legs with a Preserve triple razor and the lather from my Zum Bar Goats Milk Soap by Indigo Wild in Sandalwood Citrus. I am in LOVE with this soap; the smell, the lather, the moisture. I don’t wash my face the ‘traditional’ way very often (washing daily just seems to exacerbate the acne I’ve had consistently since age 14), but if I’m exceptionally greasy that night, I use my Zum bar to wash my face, too. Then, I use my dreaded acne scrub. The only thing I’ve ever used that has worked on my acne is Carly’s Clear and Smooth Kickass Scrub (used daily), which is NOT 100% clean (germall preservative and benzoyl peroxide are the only two offenders). Carly’s was like a miracle for me; I’m acne free for the first time in over 10 years. It’s hard to give up something you know has some nasty chemicals in it when the alternative is the cysts and scars and I’ve battled before. However, recently, after much research, I’ve started taking 1000mgs daily of Pantothenic Acid (vitamin b5), and I’ve cut down to using the scrub only 3x a week, still no breakouts/cysts. I’m hoping I’ve finally found the clean answer, but I’m cutting down on my scrub slowly to allow my skin to adjust. (I’d be happy to update No More Dirty Looks on how this process goes and if Pantothenic Acid is a possible clean acne solution!) The last thing I always do is rinse my hair.
Outside the shower…
I use organic, unrefined coconut oil with a few drops of tea tree oil to moisturize my legs and body. I also rub a good amount into my armpits; it replaces deodorant for me 90% of the time.( I carry a Thai Crystal with me in my purse, so if things start to get swampy, I’m prepared.) For my face, I use the same coconut oil (MINUS THE TEA TREE OIL!) to remove my eye makeup…rub it in till you look like a zombie raccoon, then gently wipe away. After that, I adore John Masters Mandarin Maximum Moisture and John Masters Vitamin C Anti-Aging Serum. I apply a few drops of the serum, let it dry, then apply a few drops of moisturizer. The combination of these two has been plumping my few deeper scar pits and I have noticeably less dark marks after a few months of consistent use…it looks like my skin is healing (dare I say, thriving?), not just surviving. I dab it under my eyes, as well. Finally, I take 100% pure, cold pressed argan Oil and use it on the ends of my eyelashes. I try to take extra care of my eyelashes because I wear mascara pretty much every day.
Finishing touches…
When I wake up in the morning post-shower, I make myself a piping hot cup of green tea. When I take the tea bag out of the hot tea to drink it, I use the tea bag like most people use a toner-soaked cotton ball. It takes any greasy residue from the night off and wakes my skin up beautifully; no soap and scrubbing required. If it was a rough night, I use two tea bags and let them sit on my eyes for 10 minutes (steeping my swollen under eyes in hot, steamy, anti-oxidant goodness) before I pat my face dry and apply Vapour Atmosphere Luminous Foundation, shade 115. Then…my eyelashes. Now, I love my hair color; light natural blonde. I love not having to shave my legs, really, at all if I don’t want to. I love that I have no arm, knuckle, or upper lip hair to speak of. But this comes with a price; and that price is that I have no eyebrows or eyelashes unless I coat ‘em in makeup. So I use Dr. Hauschka Volumizing Mascara in Black and (and if I want to be able to demonstrate facial expression along with having eyelashes), I color in my eyebrows with Gabriel Cosmetics ZuZu Luxe Eybrow Pencil in Flax. If I’m feeling exceptionally vampish I’ll add Zuzu Luxe Liquid Eyeliner in Raven to the mix. Hair wise, it lives in a messy bun on top of my head most of the time; but if I happen to style it, I pat in some Aubrey Organics B-5 Design Gel before it gets the curling iron. I spray Indigo Wild’s Zum Spray in Sandalwood Citrus or Frankincense and Myrrh (both are orgasmic scents) or Pacifica Waikiki Pikake on my wrists and my hair, add some cat hair, and I’m good to go.
Thanks, Aubrey! Is anyone else dealing with especially hard water and have any tips?
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Filed under Blog · Tagged with argan oil, Aubrey's Organics, coconut oil, Dr. Hauschka, green tea, hard water, John Masters Organics, lemon juice, Pacifica, Vapour, Zum Bar
