Moving blog (well sort of...)

I have decided to use open a new blog strictly for beauty and food stuffs and keep this blog for random casual things such as vlogs or personal blogs. 

Here is the new address: 

http://marycdiary.blogspot.co.uk

Sorry to be a pain. 

Mary xxx

Review - Bobbi Brown Oil-Free Even Finish Compact Foundation

I bought this foundation around September last year as the weather was warm, and I fancy switching to a compact foundation from my usual liquid or mineral one, hoping it will have better staying power (i.e more longer lasting) and less messy touching up than liquid ones. Funny enough, initially when I went to the Bobbi Brown make up counter at John Lewis, I was actually looking for a lipstick (it's the colour Sandwash Pink, in case you're wondering), although I ended up buying the colour Soft Rosé instead, but that's another story for another day. I might do a review on that at another time. 

I had bought 2 Bobbi Brown foundations in the past - one were the BB Moisture Rich Foundation in Sand 2.5, and the other one was the foundation stick, also in Sand 2.5, and had loved it as being an Asian, my complexion tend to lean toward more yellowy side which may be difficult to find in high street brands, although I noticed that more and more of the high street brands are now introducing more yellow/warm based foundations into the market, which is a bonus! Anyway, back to BB! However I did find the colour Sand slightly too yellow for my skin, so I asked the MA to help me select a more closer shade and was matched Beige 3. I specified that as I have a dry sensitive skin, I wanted something more moisturising and is in a compact form so I was recommended the Oil-Free Even Finish Compact Foundation, which I believe cost around £29.00. 

The foundation is inside a black case that has a mirror and a sponge in a separate   compartment which I like. At first I loved the foundation as the colour matched perfectly and the finish looked quite natural and is not noticeable. I would say the coverage is light to medium, not a full one for sure. I haven't used the sponge that comes with it yet, instead I used RealTechnique Stippling brush or any dual fibre Stippling brush to apply it. Unfortunately maybe because the foundation is quite moisturising, it really lack staying power. Even with a face primer and setting with translucent powder afterwards the foundation still rubbed off very easily. The fact that I got the habit of touching my face and always trying to pick off my hair that sticks to my face make the foundation last even less. That to me is the biggest disappointment, but I still use it occasionally when my skin is good and I only need small coverage to even out my skin tone, but for an all day long lasting makeup, this foundation is a big NO NO! Otherwise I would highly recommend it. 

I am now trying the MAC face and body foundation and seem to be impressed with it. I will be going to somewhere hot and humid in July so hoping the MAC foundation can withstand the heat. 

Let me know if you have used the Bobbi Brown oil free even finish compact foundation and what thoughts you have of it. You never know, I might have applied the foundation wrong! 

M xx

Mayonnaise Hair Mask

Using mayonnaise (the edible ones you put in salads) as a hair treatment is not new. If you type it in search engine you be guaranteed there are millions of posts and videos on how to use it, along with reviews and opinions on its effectiveness.

I've tried using it in the past before, in fact I first tried it more than 10 years ago when my hair didn't really need to use any treatments on it as it was already healthy enough, but being an adolescent, I spent most of my pocket money on face masks, face creams and hair treatments thinking its necessary in order to look pretty!

Anyway, I did use the mayonnaise for a short while, even managing to finished the medium size jar that I placed on my desk in the bedroom so no one will use it for eating, not because I'm selfish, but because it has been contaminated by my not-too-sure-if it's-clean fingers scooping out the products to rub into my hair, hence don't want to poison my dear family. I did alternate it sometime with just rubbing eggs on my hair, but I found the smell of the mayonnaise more bearable than the raw eggs.

Back then I didn't noticed much difference in my hair (maybe because it wasn't even damaged in the first place), but looking back at the photos of me taken around that time, I noticed that my hair very glossy and shiny. Funny enough I never continued with the treatment for long, the likely reason will probably be I got sucked into believing the high-end brands hair treatment are way better (and thinking back, are 100x more pricier) than a jar of mayonnaise or egg treatments.

Fast forward to present day, I've started to incorporate more "natural" products in my everyday life because my health has deteriorate badly for the past few years, mainly my skin and many people believed that commercial/synthetic chemicals are to be blamed and swears by natural products in improving their health. I got diagnosed to have autoimmune disease few years ago and it has made my skin very itchy and dry. I saw many doctors, both through NHS and private, even went as far as going to Hong Kong to see those Chinese doctors, but nothing helped. I got given steroid creams and steroid tablets that totally ruined my body and made me gained more than 2 stones, going up 2 dress sizes because it has increased my appetite a lot (I wasn't warned about it and my dad thought my eating habit was unusual), and nothing has helped improved it. All the doctors ever says is to make sure I stopped scratching (easier said than done)! Therefore I want to try using natural products in case I might be allergy to some of the chemicals used in body products.

I've mentioned using coconut oil in my previous post. The result seems fine, hair was more glossy, however I have recently dyed my hair and want to see what other DIY masks is good. I came across the mayonnaise mask again whilst googling on the net and remembered it has made my hair glossy and shiny so I thought I try it again today.

Method:
Just rub mayonnaise onto dry hair and massage it into the scalp if your hair and scalp is dry. (Only massage it into the mid length and ends if your hair tends to be oily). Cover hair with shower cap if you have one and leave for minimum one hour then wash out the product with shampoo TWICE, use conditioner as well if you feel you need to. You can leave it overnight if you want. I prefer to leave it overnight and wash it out the next day to maximise the benefit but its personal preference.

WARNING: Only use enough to cover hair and not drench it with too much products. I've made a mistake today by piling too much products on my hair before taking a shower. Afterward when I finished moisturising my skin I noticed there were oil dripping out of the shower cap onto my neck. I try rubbing the oil onto my skin like massage oil, even wiping it off with a towel but after a minute or two I noticed there's still oil running down, so be warned!

Let me know if you tried the mayonnaise mask and what's your opinion on it.

M xx

Coconut oil - on hair!

This post is very overdue because I've started trying the coconut oil treatment about a year ago and wanted to share with others who want to minimise the use of harsh chemicals in their daily routine. It is funny how the cosmetic products always emphasis its products are enriched with olive oil, coconut oil, or Shea butter... but when you look at the ingredients list you will noticed the oils comes quite low in the list, meaning the amount being used are quite minimal. Agreeing with what other bloggers had mentioned in their posts, if the oils are that good, then why not use it in its purest form?

There are dozens, actually HUNDREDS of posts on the internet with quite a decent amount of informations on the goodness of using coconut oil, whether used internally (adding it to cereals or substituting it from your usual cooking oil) or externally (applying it to skin as a moisturiser, or on hair as a conditioner and hair mask treatment).

I forgotten how I came across the articles about the benefits of coconut oil, but it was likely to do with trying to improve my diet and skin condition (I got diagnose with an autoimmune disease and side effect is it had made my skin as dry as the Sahara Desert!)

Initially I tried adding a spoonful of the coconut oil on my hot porridge for breakfast (just make sure you stir the coconut oil thoroughly otherwise it will taste very oily!), however this healthy breakfast didn't continue very long as the coconut went mouldy for some reason (but since its an oil it should preserve quite well doesn't it?), anyway, so as a result I didn't have the opportunity to see the benefits it has on my body.

Rather than chucking the oil in the bin (it did cost me £9.## and I've only used about 2-3 teaspoons) as it is virgin , organic coconut oil, I decided to use it on my hair as an overnight hair treatment instead (since there is only a tiny bit of mould in it, although I did scraped it and disposed it in the bin beforehand). Lots of people swear by this oil and as my hair need a bit (well actually a lot) of TLC from daily abuses of ironing and dyeing the hair I decide to give it a go, there's nothing to loose, it is a natural product with no harmful chemicals and I doubt I will be allergic to the oil. The worse scenario I could think of were greasy hair, but it weren't something a few shampoos can't sort out! ^_~

I chose to put the oil as an overnight treatment because I felt the longer I leave the oil, the more it will absorbed into the hair and scalp. I must admit the oil was quite hard to get out of the pot as it was rock solid, but nonetheless just heat/warm it a little and the oil will soften. Also it is very messy with some oil dripping down the neck and forehead if too much are applied, which I must confessed always happens to me! Haha! To combat the problem I usually just rub the oil into my skin like a moisturiser and wrap it in a turban, also I put a towel to cover my pillow case to catch any oil in case my turban become loose.

The result I found was my hair become easier to brush also felt more nourish, probably because there's more oil in the hair (keke), BUT I did need to wash my hair more often. Usually I will wash it about twice a week, but after the treatment I probably need to wash my hair again after one or two days. I prefer not to wash it too often because I don't want to strip the natural oil in my hair too much. My hair were also more glossy and less static. At the beginning I use it nearly once a week, but after few weeks I lessen the amount of time to twice a month, and then once a month depending on the condition. I still use commercial type conditioners and hair oil since I bought plenty in the past, however I will try use the coconut oil more often as a leave-in conditioner and treatment as its more natural and economical =p

Has anyone use coconut oil on your face or hair before? Please share your stories as I enjoy reading other people's reviews on it =)

M xx

P.S. Below is the coconut oil that I used. You can purchased it in local health store or supermarkets.
Coconoil Organic Virgin Coconut Oil - 460g