Beauty by a Sparrow

Skin4theWin

This is a beauty blog (obviously) but aside from real beauty coming from within, real beauty also comes from what’s underneath your make-up – your skin! If you’ve been following me for a while you’ll know these three commonalities of my skin to be true;

So by September this year I’d managed to settle myself into a routine that my skin actually not only tolerated, but seems to still thrive from.

DAYTIME
First things first (I’m the realest) I use a creamy cleanser (Swisse is still a fave, as is Kate Somerville Goat’s Milk) to wake myself up and get my skin ready for the day ahead. I then use a nourishing eye cream (Kate Somerville AgeArrest, ah!) followed by a hydrating serum, Dr Dennis Gross’s HydrationBooster. So, so good. I then pop on my moisturiser of choice (September, Darphin Hydraskin Rich, today, Drunk Elephant La La Retro Whip Cream) and to seal in all that skin-fun-time-goodness, a beautiful oil. My pick? Goldfaden MD Fleuressence. A blend of eight different oils designed for acneic, pimple-prone skin, that dries into the skin super quickly but leaves it luminous and fresh. Topped off with an SPF and ta-daaah! Skin is ready, prepped and excited to greet the day!

NIGHT TIME
Firstly – take off the mask. AaaaaAAAaLL the make-up. All the SPF. All the good stuff from the morning. Take it OFF with Nude Perfect Cleanse Omega Jelly. It’s amazing to smear your face like a Picasso and then rub it all off. Following this, I’ll either use Dr Dennis Gross Ultra Gentle Peel Pads or Sunday Riley Good Genes serum – NOT together. That’s a triple exfoliation. Dat’s bad.

If I’ve used a peel pad, I’ll be popping on more Dr Dennis Gross Hydration Booster (more water less problems). If not, I’ll follow with my moisturiser, or sometimes as a treat-yo-self, La Mer Concentrate (AH!) because it’s regenerative, hydrating and just beautiful. Following moisturiser – all of the oil. Ok, well, not all of it, but enough to make a lovely little barrier for my skin and to keep it lush.

Gotta tell ya, this routine hasn’t changed much and my skin is all the better for it. I’ve swapped out my serums as the weather’s changed this December, but this routine – cleanse, gentle exfoliation, hydrate, moisturise, nourish – it hasn’t steered me wrong yet!

#skingoalsalways

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Do you guys remember when I was all about mattes? Matte shadows, matte contour, matte base, matte lip (still loving those though) and matte everything, essentially?

Let’s all laugh together, shall we?

This year was the year I not only learnt how to strobe, but how to do it properly, and all the joys that come from having THE LIGHT OF APOLLO ON YO FACE.

Highlighters. All the highlighters. ALL OF THEM.

Liquid. Cream. Powder. Eyeshadow (hear me out) – you name it, if it gives the skin a glow, I’ve used it on my face. August saw me swapping my beloved Sheer Glow for the Nars Velvet Tint; a satin finish, medium-full coverage skin tint that made for the perfect base for all kinds of highlighting and glow. And it wasn’t something I restricted to a full-face kinda day – even study days saw me whipping out the Josie Maran Argan Oil Illuminiser, as the Argan oil base gave that bit more hydration and protection to my skin on long library days.

So here are my top fave highlighter/illuminators – for the time being, of course!

Josie Maran Enlightment Illunimiser – liquid crème with a rosy gold

NARS Illuminator in Copacobana, and Super Orgasm

NARS Dual Intensity Blush in Frenzy – used with a wet brush for a POP like you wouldn’t believe!

Hourglass Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder in Incandescent Strobe light – silvery pink that sits beautifully with a blush, and best used with a sponge

Too Faced Candlelight Glow – Rosy Glow

Stila Kitten Eye shadow Single – when used with an extremely light hand, this is the ULTIMATE glow-getter. I’m obsessed. And a multipurpose product that’s so so easy to travel with? SOLD!

Stay tuned to @beautybyasparrow on Instagram for swatches and daily looks with these bad, bedazzling boys!

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Ok so you know how sometimes it takes you a while to get on board with something? Whether that be smashed avocado, matcha green lattes (still not quite there guys, give me time), Game of Thrones/Stranger Things/Black Mirror/- insert latest Netflix obsessive show here – or exfoliating with chemicals (still embarrassed about that one), sometimes it takes time to come around to something new.

That’s kind of what happened with La Mer and I. Not that I disliked the brand or anything – don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a luxe brand featuring a fish tank in David Jones – but not unlike, say, myself and a model working Melbourne Spring Fashion Week, we just never crossed paths. I might’ve passed on my way to Priceline and taken a glance, but never had a chance/opportunity/means of going to a La Mer counter, or visiting the shelves at Mecca in Myer.

Enter; The Mother of All Reactions. Ooh boy.

I’m not entirely sure why or how my skin felt the need to freak itself out over a light Argan oil blend, but BOY HOWDY did I hear that freak out loud and clear.

My skin felt like it was cracking. So dry that no amount of my normal serum or moisturiser could help. Make-up? Not an option. My face just hurt. I can’t even really describe it; I just know that at one point I cried to Mumma Sparrow about how bad it all felt.

I knew I had a little sample of Crème de La Mer that I’d been holding onto for Mumma Sparrow, having read and heard all about its regenerative, healing properties. After consulting with Centaine (glossco.com.au) and sussing out whether the La Mer would worsen the situation (she assured me it wouldn’t) I decided to give it a crack.

The photo speaks for itself really. 

A week after using the original cream my skin was unrecognisable. I couldn’t believe it. Gone were the dry patches, and the redness, the uneven texture, and my face didn’t hurt anymore. Break outs… eh not much can be done about them when I’m unable to use AHA’s or any kind of spot treatment (skin dealing with a reaction shouldn’t use anything too active because the last thing it needs is something full-on to contend with) but the inflammation brought on by a break out most definitely died down.

As winter wound its way through Melbourne I came back to La Mer again and again, eventually getting onto the Renewal Oil and I think it’s the main reason my skin didn’t totally collapse on itself during a harsh, cold season. La Mer is a brand I now trust absolutely and completely for my skin, and will probably have an everlasting love with til the day I forget what skincare is.

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So Dr Dennis Gross MD is a pretty rad guy. Dermatologist in the Big Apple, the best of the best for radiance, clarity, and just plain good skin.

He developed his Alpha Beta Peel Pads for his clients, as a way of maintaining their skin in between clinic visits. I could get super science-y here, talk about AHA’s and BHA’s, acids and neutralizers, but let’s keep it basic (like my blonde in January, HA!)

Ultra Gentle Peel Pads – 3 types of acids to exfoliate + coconut oil. Easy peasy.
Original Alpha Beta Peel Pads – 5 acids to exfoliate
Extra Strength Peel Pads – 7 acids
Medi-Spa Peel – 12 acids. Twelve! OH MAMA.

For the record, I use the Ultra Gentle range because I’m really sensitive, and if there’s even a chance my skin could freak out, it’ll do it ANYWAY because it’s thoughtful like that.

The pads are pre-packaged in sachets; you tear one, use it all over until it’s dry, wait two minutes (and scroll through Insta @beautybyasparrow) and then use the second pad to neutralise the acids eating all your manky dead skin. Follow with your normal serum and moisturiser, and boom! You’re done! Yay!

In case it wasn’t clear, these peels chemically exfoliate the skin. The acids dissolve all of the dead skin cells and are able to get deeper into the pore to exfoliate. Some skins can handle daily exfoliation. Mine cannot. Believe me, I tried. (It was not pretty.)

When using peel pads, I go 3-4 days a week. So Monday, Wednesday and maybe Friday or Sunday. They tend to send me quite red, but it calms down by morning. If you hate scrubs (put DOWN the St. Ive’s!) or struggle with break outs and pimples (YO) then these are an amazing option for you.

I love them to pieces, they’ve changed my skin for the better!

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Hello my little birds! In my last post I mentioned some Swisse cleansers and creams, so I thought I should elaborate!

Around August last year I was lucky enough to win a Priceline competition, by Swisse, with  over $150 worth of products. I’ve been slowly working my way through all of them, because I actually got that much it’s been hard to handle!

I’ve been using the Swisse Purify Cream Face Cleanser each morning and night, alternating with the Swisse Polish Face Exfoliant. Whilst I’ve enjoyed the Swisse cleanser, I think I much prefer St. Ives’ Apricot scrub as a facial exfoliant. Whilst the Swisse Polish works, and doesn’t upset my skin, I just don’t feel it cleans as thoroughly as the St. Ives’ brand scrubs.

The Swisse Body Scrub arrived just in time, as I’d run out of my Soap & Glory Breakfast Oats scrub. If you can’t tell from the photo, I’ve nearly used the entire tube, and unfortunately that’s not because I love, love, love it. Whilst it’s gentle and doesn’t upset sensitive skin, I found that to get off fake tan, or to really see a difference in the texture of my skin, or to really see a difference, I had to use more of the product than I would of my other scrub. I would probably re-purchase it for use during summer, when my skin can be a little more sensitive due to sun exposure.

The Swisse Recovery Anti-Ageing Night Cream is wonderful, though I do have a slight issue with the scent. Whilst I know there are no fake fragrances or perfumes in Swisse products, the natural scent of hibiscus took quite a while to get used to. In terms of the general feel of the cream, it’s soothing and thick, and my skin feels plumped up and fresher when I wake up.

I haven’t opened the Swisse Hand Cream with Vitamin F and Pomegranate, simply because I’ve still got my Vaseline cream and my Palmers lotion on the go, and opening a third hand cream seems like a bit of overkill. From what I can smell, though, the hand cream isn’t kidding about the pomegranate scent. I’m hoping it’s not a repeat of the hibiscus in the night cream, however, as that took me a good three weeks to get used to, and obviously a product on your hands during the day could be a tad more overpowering than I’d like.

Speaking of products on your hands, I’ve been using the rose hip oil on and off to combat my psoriasis and dry skin during the day, and night. I try to avoid using the oil when I’m working, as the oil could obviously stain fabrics such as silk, but when I’m at home or before I go to sleep, I’ll rub about two drops of the oil on my fingers and rub it into my palms.

I haven’t yet used the Swisse Bioactive Nature Oil, as it claims to do a lot of the things my Palmers Cocoa Butter Firming cream does. When I go through my bottle of that, I may start to use the Bioactive Oil, to compare.

 And that’s it! Thank you again to Priceline and Swisse for my incredible prize, all of the products are of such a high quality and I really do enjoy using all of them each day to feel natural and beautiful.

Until next time my little birds,
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P.S. I DID A COLLABORATION! With The Little Red Blogger! Go check out her amazing work and the interview we did together, it was so, so much fun, and her blog is INCREDIBLE!

http://thelittleredblogger.com/